A Frosty Christmas Wonderland
by Bovine Beauty
Summary: HOTR. On the night before Christmas Eve, the three cows are suddenly transported to the North Pole where Santa Clause awaits. But can they outsmart an evil ice empress?
1. A Magic Sleigh Ride

_All characters, except those not mentioned in the movie are the property of the Walt Disney Company and are used without permission. Even though I do believe that they deserve much better than what they get recently these days._

**Chapter 1: A Magic Sleigh Ride**

"Heads up!" Mrs. Calloway turned too late to see a snowball thrown by Maggie come splash straight into her face.

"Oh now you're in for it!" Shaking the snowflakes off, she darted towards Maggie to wrestle with her in the deep snow (in a playful way). Then they began to have more snowball throwing competitions to see which one was the fastest at throwing them. So far, it had been an even match. The two had managed to get along just fine over the past couple of months since Maggie first arrived on Patch of Heaven. Although there were still some times when they would have a few arguments about whatsoever, they would always find ways to resolve their differences as most families do. None of that would spoil their winter wonderland at this moment.

Grace on the other hand had been making a snowman and using small quality items to create a happy face. She let out a sigh. It would have been much more fun if the snowman would at least say hello to her or be able to dance around in the snow. The reason she thought about that was because of the story of Frosty the Snowman who came to life from the magic of a hat placed atop his head. Too bad she didn't have a hat or a scarf for him.

Without warning, she didn't notice a big snowball zoom and splat behind the back of her head, almost causing her to lose balance in the deep snow.

"Hey Grace, are you gonna stand there all night with your hooves frozen over there, or do we have to drag you over to join our snowball fight!" Maggie had called out to Grace in a playful sarcastic tone. "You're missing out on all this!"

"Come on, you can finish the snowman later!" even Mrs. Calloway agreed whilst shaking bits of snowflakes off of her body.

Oh what was there to complain about? She was still having lots of fun out here. Leaving the snowman behind, she went off to join Maggie and Mrs. Calloway for a long lasting snowball fight. Although it was cold out, the three girls had worn a few minimal garments to keep themselves from freezing to death. Maggie wore a dark green scarf around her neck and aquamarine earmuffs. Mrs. Calloway wore a blue violet scarf and lilac earmuffs under her purple bonnet. Grace had worn a thick pink scarf and purple earmuffs. As they were still playing, Grace stared back at the snowman sitting all alone on the small hilltop; it might not have been a real person, but for some reason, it seemed to possess a kind personality. Or had she been listening to too many fairy tales to think of such things?

"You know…" Maggie had ceased from throwing any more snowballs to talk about a story, "…when I was a young calf growing up on my old home, me and the other cattle would gather around and listen to Abner tell a story about a magical place called the North Pole." Grace and Mrs. Calloway paused for a moment at the mention of that word and listened as Maggie continued. "It's true, every year on the night of Christmas Eve, it is said that a merry old man by the name of Santa Clause rides on a sleigh pulled by eight reindeer to deliver presents all over the world."

"Tell us more about Santa," pleaded Grace. She was feeling excited and merry herself by listening to the tale.

"Well let me think now," Maggie scratched her chin thoughtfully for a moment. "In order to enter the house without waking anybody, he slides down the chimney to leave the gifts by the Christmas tree and exits through the fireplace. Sometimes you can even hear his sleigh bells ringing merrily in the sky."

"What about the North Pole, what does he do there?" Grace still wanted to hear more.

"I'm getting to that. During the rest of the year, he lives together with his wife Mrs. Clause and his elves manufacturing toys in preparations for the next couple of years. For you see, his home is like a huge toy factory like no other in the world." All the Christmas memories from her earlier childhood began to come back to her from every tale she told her two friends. A smile spread across her face as she looked up dreamily at the snowy sky with snowflakes falling. "I wonder what it would be like to ride on his sleigh and travel all over the world while still delivering gifts. And I wonder if it would be possible to ever visit the North Pole to see what a wonderful, fabulous, magical, spectacular…" Maggie's eyes began to sparkle from imagining what would lie beyond the North Pole.

"…more spectacular nonsense!" Mrs. Calloway interrupted sternly, knocking Maggie out of her daydreaming experience.

"Excuse me?" Maggie turned away from the snowy sky.

"Don't you think you're a little old to still believe in fairy tales about some old man riding in a sleigh on a night like this? First there was that story of Callie the witch whom Grace was afraid of and now this?" Grace nearly shuddered from the sound of that dreadful name. Even if only a month had passed since that dream, she still didn't like having anybody say it in front of her. And sometimes, she still believed that the witch was still somewhere out there waiting for her next victim; especially her. She had gently asked the entire family numerous times to try and never mention that name out loud. But was it really a dream?

"You know if I were you, I would watch what I say because Santa keeps a list of all the folks who have been naughty or nice all through the year. And he knows," Maggie warned as all three of them were walking back to the farm.

"Have you ever seen any of what you just mentioned before?" Mrs. Calloway asked in a concerned tone. She saw Maggie scratch her head with her hoof while trying to come up with something.

"Uh…well no but…but…" she stammered.

"But what?" the proper cow was still waiting.

"Not exactly…but just because you're not seeing something don't mean it ain't there. Abner once told me that believing in something means…well you know. It just means you believe in it."

"I see," was all Mrs. Calloway could say without being convinced. Maggie furrowed her brow from having heard her say that.

"You don't believe in Santa Clause do you Mrs. C?" she asked seriously.

Grace paid no attention to the two of her friends as they continued to talk about the existence of Santa Clause and the North Pole. Just like Maggie, her mind was now on wondering what it would be like to visit such a wondrous place. Unlike Mrs. Calloway, she found the story of the night on Christmas Eve quite believable from every detail explained clearly. If she were ever to be swept away to another land of enchantment, then the North Pole would definitely be the perfect place to be; unlike the land of the dead that's for sure.

* * *

_That night_

The three girls had fallen asleep hours later. Maggie and Mrs. Calloway managed to agree on not speaking another word about the existence of Santa Clause since both knew it was wise to keep one's beliefs to themselves rather than boast about who was right or wrong. It just simply wasn't worth it.

Grace on the other hand still believed she would somehow hear the bells from Santa's sleigh ride by pretending to go to sleep. Then again, what if the whole situation is nothing more than mere nonsense as Mrs. Calloway said it was? But why would Maggie even bother mentioning it to them if she had never seen it? As she was still lost in her thoughts, she thought that she heard a sort of strange yet merrily echo. Could it be the sound of jingling bells? Not only did she hear jingling bells, but also the snorting of a different kind of animal. Jingle bells, animal sounds, what more could it possibly be? Rising up, she walked slowly to the doors to listen for any more jingling. Grabbing her scarf and earmuffs off a wooden stool, she opened the doors to find a **_sledge and eight reindeer with bells on their harnesses!?_**

Grace stood there in bewilderment with her mouth dropped open. It was almost too good to be true. Santa's sleigh was right in their ranch. Only that the person who sat on the sledge was no bigger than a baby lamb. There sat a tiny old man with a white bushy beard, a small stubby nose, a green pointed hat, a blue sleeve shirt, light brown pants, and small dark brown boots. Grace stared at him in confusion. Was that little man Santa? She had at least expected him to be a little bigger than what she was looking at.

"E...excuse me but are you Santa Clause?" she asked the little man. He gazed at her while holding on to the reins.

"No, but if you climb aboard, I'd be more than happy to take you to the North Pole," he answered in a voice like a male chipmunk.

"Climb aboard, you mean this is…?"

"…Santa's sleigh," the little man finished for her. "Of course it is, and I'm Ester the gnome. We're a few inches taller than the elves. What we do is take care of the reindeer while the elves help Santa with making toys." He gave Grace a cheerful smile as she climbed on the sleigh to examine its seats. It was made of a soft velvety red material. She couldn't believe she was actually sitting in a sleigh she thought was only supposed to be imaginary. But it was here now.

"Are we ready to depart?" the gnome asked cheerfully.

"Oh but maybe I should go and get…" she was about to say Maggie and Mrs. Calloway until she heard a shout from somewhere.

"Grace, what are you doing? Get off there this instant!" It was Mrs. Calloway with Maggie running up to the sleigh. They had put on their winter garments. Immediately, the gnome had cracked the reins and the sleigh started moving. Maggie had managed to jump aboard, but Mrs. Calloway had a hard time catching up.

"Stop the sled!" she cried out to whoever was riding this thing. The other two helped her get in a few seconds before the sleigh began to lift off the ground.

"WHOA, WHAT'S GOING ON HERE!?" she hollered in bewilderment from seeing that their ranch had grown smaller and smaller.

"We're going to the North Pole!" called the gnome while holding on tightly to the reins. "So whatever happens, hang on tight!"

"What do you mean hang on TIIIIIIGGGGHHHHTTTT!!!?" Mrs. Calloway held on to her hat as the sleigh was now zooming at a high speed into a bright light up ahead. The cows covered their eyes as the light grew brighter. It was almost like riding on an out of control train ride without any breaks. "I DEMAND TO KNOW WHAT THE MEANING OF THIS IS!"

"HANG ON, WE'RE ALMOST THERE!" the gnome shouted as the sled still kept zooming. Finally it slowed down while the light diminished. The cows opened their eyes to see that they were still up in the sky which was twinkling with the brightest stars of all shapes and sizes.

"Wow, look at all the stars!" Grace shouted in joy as she gazed at the starry sky. It was the most beautiful sight she had ever seen. Maggie was surprised as well as her and tried to convince Mrs. Calloway to come and see. But the proper cow refused, insisting that she would rather wait until they land on the ground. This was definitely not her way of adventuring up at a high altitude, especially if they should all be asleep by now.

"Look down below!" Ester called out. "Right now we are traveling over the forest of Christmas Trees!" Maggie and Grace gazed down to see the entire snow covered forest of trees decorated with aluminous colors and lights. Never had they seen something so beautiful like this before.

"Take your seats now, we're about to make a landing!" Everyone sat down as they were now nearing the snowy ground. The sleigh landed with a soft thud.

"Are we on the ground yet?" Mrs. Calloway asked nervously.

"Yes, you can open your eyes now Miss-no-fun-at-all!" Maggie answered sarcastically. Mrs. Calloway rolled her eyes ignoring her comment and looked at all the beautifully decorated trees the sleigh had been passing through. This all couldn't be real. She turned to the gnome in control of the sleigh and moved upward.

"Whoever you are, turn this sleigh around at once and take us home," she ordered.

"Sorry ma'am, no can do," the gnome answered while still keeping his eyes on the snowy path. "The light we just passed through only allows us to enter into this realm without turning back. Only Santa Clause knows the other way around"

"Santa Clause, what is going on here?" Was this some kind of joke?


	2. Journey through Christmas Tree Forest

**Chapter 2: Journey through Christmas Tree Forest**

"I said only Santa Clause knows the other way around. He's the head elf of this place and the symbol of Christmas cheer." Ester made a left turn when the sleigh reached a forked path with a sign posted deep in the snow. The signs read Forbidden Caverns and the other read Candy Land. Candy Land was their next destination.

"Excuse me, but what exactly lies beyond Forbidden Caverns; something dangerous?" Maggie asked Ester curiously.

"That is something none of us are ever allowed to discuss in front of others. But my only advice is stay away from there. Beyond there lies Stone cold Mountain; home to Crystal…oops," Ester kept his eyes on the path feeling a bit edgy.

"Crystal, who is Crystal?" Grace turned her attention away from the Christmas trees. Ester slapped his forehead from having said too much. He should have known better than to give away secrets that are meant to stay hidden.

"Uh…forget what I said just now. That is not for you to know," he stuttered.

"What are you hiding from us?" Maggie eyed him suspiciously.

"Hey look, more Christmas trees!" Ester pointed his finger at a few acres of snow covered trees being decorated with ornaments and lights by forest animals. The cows had forgotten about Crystal (whoever that was) and became both enchanted and bewildered by what they were gazing at. Their eyes had been sparkling with delight. There were cute deer hanging colored balls with their teeth, squirrels hanging up angels or stars at the very top, and small blue birds that decorated with gold and silver snowflakes. The branches glittered with lit candles that never went out.

"Look Mom, three cows are sitting in Santa's sleigh!" a baby squirrel squeaked whilst jumping up and down in excitement.

"Now dear, haven't I told you before that it isn't polite to point and shout?" the mother held her baby back to prevent him from running after the sleigh

"But Mom, they're riding away!" the baby squirrel still wanted to follow them.

"Did someone say that there are three cows riding Santa's sleigh?" a puffy brown owl swooped down to land next to the squirrels. "That's impossible; everyone here knows that no mortal outside is allowed into the North Pole. Don't you know what would have happened if this place was discovered?"

"But there were cows, I saw them, I saw them!" the baby squirrel was once again jumping with joy and clapping his tiny hands. The rest of the forest animals paused for a few moments to listen to what the baby squirrel had to say.

"That's enough now dear," the mother settled her baby down to avoid attracting attention. "I'm sure they're just another one of the cows from the Pudding Palace."

"Ah, the young lad getting worked up over pudding cows?" The owl was a little unconvinced to believe that. "I'll go and see for myself." He lifted off and soared after the sleigh.

High above, he could see Ester holding on to the reins as the reindeer kept pulling through. To his surprise, the three cows had no coats of rainbow-like colors, just an average color of a normal dairy cow on earth. But to make sure, he flew down to have a closer look at them.

"Hey you, up here!" The cows looked up as they witnessed an owl flying above them then land in front of the sleigh. "Did you three ladies come from the Pudding Palace?"

"Are we from the what?" Mrs. Calloway stared straight at him as if he had just let out another secret of theirs that was meant to stay hidden.

"The Pudding Palace, the place where all the cows gather and create the best puddings of many different flavors," the owl answered with delight.

"Sorry, we're not from anyplace here, but whatever it is you just mentioned sounds awfully sweet," Maggie rubbed both her hooves together thinking about else what the Pudding Palace might hold.

"Not from here? Then where are you from?"

"We're from a barn called Patch of Heaven; home to all farm animals," Grace murmured. "We've traveled the entire west to catch a cattle rustler responsible for the loss of many ranches. Maggie here told us all about the North Pole, but Mrs. Calloway didn't believe a single word she said because..." Before Grace could give out any further information, Mrs. Calloway moved in front of her, meaning that she didn't want anybody in this strange territory to know about their adventures, unless someone not trustworthy were to ever eavesdrop on their conversations. And she sure did not want to take any chances.

"We really shouldn't be talking. We just have to go see whoever is in charge of this world so that he can send us back home."

The elderly owl seemed rather impressed with everything he heard just now; even if he understood why Mrs. Calloway did not want to talk to any strangers. He went to sit next to Ester, still in control of the sleigh ride. He had also been curious to know why the gnome had brought these outsiders to a place where they shouldn't be. Ester explained that he only wanted to prove to the three cows that the North Pole and Santa Clause really do exist. The owl couldn't blame him for that, knowing that Christmas is a wondrous holiday for everyone, no matter how different they are or where they're from. Still, he warned Ester that Santa might not be happy that he rode on his sleigh without permission; especially before Christmas Eve night. But the gnome was not the least bit scared of that since the head elf never lost his temper with anybody, no matter how bad a situation may look. Ester was willing to take that risk since he still excited about wanting to take the cows on a magical Christmas adventure.

* * *

_Meanwhile, elsewhere_

"Ah, it seems the foolish little man has brought along three visitors into this world," a harsh, cold, raspy voice belonging to a mysterious woman spoke inside the dark and twisting frozen caverns. "Must be planning to show them how sincerely wonderful, enchanting…AND IRRITATING," the dark woman pounded her fist on an ice block in fury. "…the Christmas spirit truly is!"

"I truly despise everything on earth that represents the Christmas season. It's always gift giving, caroling, and decorating trees with the brightest of all colors. And worst of all, Santa Clause. Why bother leaving presents for those he has never met or give something in return?" The woman's appearance was covered in dark shadows as she was now prancing around lost in thought on how to put an end to this silly happiness. Then she turned her attention back to her ice mirror to gaze at the image of the cows riding in Santa's sleigh ride and smirked cunningly.

"Maybe if I swipe the Christmas Star off the biggest tree, I can use its powers to create an entire world of icicles and then no more holiday cheer or anything happy. And I'm sure those cows would make the perfect servants to carry out my deed." Laughter echoed throughout the caverns.

_**Dicsclaimer**_: _Candy Land is a trademark of Hasbro Incorporated. I own nothing of that boardgame._


	3. Encounter with Crystal

**Chapter 3: Encounter with Crystal**

"Are you really from out of this world?" a small fuzzy woodchuck came running after the sleigh while being followed by a few other critters who had now shown a little more interest in the cows than with decorating the trees. "Because you sure don't look like pudding cows."

"We told you before, we're not of this place, nor have we ever heard of anything called Pudding Palace that you speak of," Mrs. Calloway replied. She did not feel the least bit comfortable from almost having an entire herd of forest animals chase after them. To her, it now started to become similar to being chased by things one might only see in their dream, and she still couldn't believe that this was happening. "Why aren't you even decorating the trees?"

"Come off it Mrs. C," Maggie gave a firm pat on the back without having to knock off her purple bonnet by mistake. "Try to have a little fun now; we've been away from the ranch before and we'll get back eventually. Besides, it's not like we ended up in a far worse situation than outlaw territory. Until then, we're stuck here, so enjoy." She spoke while Mrs. Calloway watched her lean over the edge of the sleigh and dig her hoof under the deep snow to throw it at her.

"Oh that does it, take that!" Mrs. Calloway did the same thing which soon became another snowball battle like what happened back at their home. Right now, it was causing some of the squirrels, beavers, chipmunks and blue birds to holler for an entertaining snowball fight competition. Both cows heard them shout and glared at each other with smirks across their face.

"Have a whip of this!" Maggie threw another snowball that splattered over Mrs. C's wooly scarf. It might have made her angry, but the competition still kept going as the small critters kept cheering and clapping for more.

"Dear me," the owl muttered a moment after a snowball hit him in the back of the head.

"Oops sorry about that!" called Maggie.

"Don't worry, carry on!" he answered whilst rubbing his head. He chuckled lightly as he watched them continue on with their little snowball throwing game. Well, that's what you call fun with both friends and family. He lifted himself off the front seat to hover above Grace and have a small chat. "Never been here have you young one? Well that's ok; we don't get many outside visitors in this part of the region since Santa Clause doesn't want anybody to ever know about his secret hideout."

"But if nobody has ever seen Santa, then how do they know he's even there?" Grace asked doubtfully.

"Why dear one, the true spirit of Christmas and Santa Clause is all a matter of believing, not seeing," the owl answered with a smile across his yellow tiny beak. "None of us need to see a certain place to know that it is there. That is what believing is all about. Didn't your mother ever teach you about that?"

At that moment, Grace could feel a pierce in her heart from having to hear the word "mother." She had never known or remembered her real mother since it has been who-knows-how-long since she was a tiny calf living a difficult lonely life. And sometimes she had a hard time trying to put that all behind her despite knowing that she was now with caring and loving family members who now look after her.

"My dear, have I said something to upset you?" The owl could see through her with those dismal eyes. He himself was not used to seeing someone sad at heart whether in the mortal world or at the North Pole. It would break his heart to see them like that.

"No, you haven't," Grace answered softly with a weak smile. "I just got a little snow in my eye, that's all." The elderly owl swooped down next to Grace and placed his left wing on her right front leg for small comfort.

"Well whatever it is, remember that you always have family to turn to in need of help. It is faith and friendship that keeps you going." The owl's advice managed to melt away the sadness that had been growing in her heart and was replaced with cheer (for now). It reminded her of something an old friend once taught her. "Oh and forgive me for not introducing myself, everyone in Christmas Tree Forest refers to me as Mr. Frazzle."

"It's very nice to meet you Mr. Frazzle," Grace spoke as politely as possible without having to giggle at the funny name. Mr. Frazzle could already tell that she was trying not to laugh, but he didn't mind that. Even he believed it was funny sometimes.

Maggie and Mrs. Calloway were still distracted with their snowball fight to pay any attention to what else was happening in front. But that didn't bother Grace since she didn't want them to know about it. She smiled and giggled while listening to the forest critters cheer.

* * *

_Meanwhile, on a snowy hilltop_

"Pesky, noisy little creatures; their cheerfulness makes me gag," the same cold voice belonging to the same dark woman stood atop a snowy hilltop from a faraway distance, gazing at the sleigh moving on with those irritating bells ringing in her ears. Even those bright lights decorated on the trees were a real nuisance. "Just look at those reindeer smiling. Don't they ever get tired of having to do all the hard work while Santa enjoys himself in the sleigh?"

"Hmm, maybe I should have some fun with a little snow storm, but first…" with a glint in her eye, she turned to the Christmas trees and moved swiftly down the frosted covered hills. Some of the forest critters were still busy hanging up items and didn't notice her standing in the tracks left behind by the sleigh until a strange laughter attracted their attention to her. All their sweet cheer went out of their faces. One brown squirrel had dropped a colored ball before hanging it on a branch, and two rabbits stood in the snow petrified with red ribbons in their mouths, and a couple of chipmunks squeaked in terror.

"Oh now, am I the only one who thinks those colors on the trees look a little too bright for all of you?" She asked coldly but nobody dared to answer her. "Let me see, how about some ICICLES TO GO WITH IT!" With a wave of her arms, an extreme Arctic blast shot through her blue lips straight at the forest animals to trap them in blocks of heavy ice. The blast kept on blowing until almost the entire Christmas tree forest was frozen solid in ice. And sadly many of the tiny birds, squirrels, rabbits, chipmunks, and deer had been frozen in ice as well.

"Now it's time for some real fun," she stared fiercely at the path straight ahead.

* * *

_At the midst of Christmas Tree Forest_

Everyone was unaware that the fun snowball fight was soon to end by the madness of a powerful evil woman already on the trail. Of course, it didn't stop until one squirrel turned back to notice the forest frozen in solid ice.

"OH NO, HALF OF CHRISTMAS TREE FOREST IS COVERED IN ICE!!" He hollered jumping in a panic. Ester had pulled back on the reins for the sleigh to slow down to a stop. Everyone turned around and became as shocked as he was. Frightened, the forest animals fled off into the safety of their homes or what might have been left of the Christmas Trees, including Mr. Frazzle. Some couldn't bear to leave their beloved handmade decorations to whatever catastrophe might have bestowed upon them. But some argued that there might not be enough time to gather everything at once.

"Now what could have gotten into them and why on earth is there ice behind us? WHOA!!" Mrs. Calloway almost slipped off the back seat as the cows could feel the sleigh begin to move again, only this time it was at an extremely fast pace. Maggie could now view the worried expression on Ester's sweaty face.

"WHOA NELLIE, SLOW DOWN!!" she cried while holding on tight to the edge of the moving sleigh. "WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA GOING SO FAST?"

"THERE IS NO TIME TO EXPLAIN, WE'VE GOT TO KEEP MOVING!" Ester shouted as loud as he could because of the fact that the jingling of the sleigh bells was ringing loudly in everyone's ears.

None of the three were used to riding on a train or wagon that traveled at fast pace and became nervous whenever the sleigh drove out between rocky cliffs, down a few more snowy hills and on and away into the darkness and the cold. Now it was becoming a wild journey for the cows, although Maggie was soon taking a liking to it as she was the type to be going on wild adventure rides and began to shout "giddy up" or "ride like the wind." Mrs. Calloway was still too nervous to react to her at this time and was holding on the edge of the sleigh and to her purple hat. The sleigh had made a U-turn when they had reached the edge of a cliff and all the way down to the slope.

"MRS. C, THE SNOWFLAKES ARE MAKING ME DIZZY!!" Grace cried out with her eyes shut tight and her left hoof in front of her face.

"I KNOW GRACE, JUST KEEP HANGING ON!!" Mrs. Calloway answered with her eyes shut tight as well. Even she began to feel the snowflakes enter her eyes and splatter over her face.

Before the sleigh had been going half an hour, the cows had been covered in amounts of tiny snowflakes. Whenever they would dust themselves off, a new lot would gather and it became tiresome having to do it all over. Even their hides were becoming soaked up. Despite the harsh blizzard seeping in, the sleigh went on and on with only the sound of the jingling bells. And because they were still protecting their eyes from the snowy blizzard, none of them noticed a rather peculiar bluish spectral trail in the deep snow zooming after the sleigh like a dangerous flood of water. In a moment, the reindeer were now having a bad feeling that something not of their territory had been following them; something sinister like…

"OH NO!" Ester screamed in terror as he pulled back on the reins in order for the reindeer to stop running. The force of the halt caused the cows to hit the backside of the front seat in a painful thud. Everyone watched as the blue spectral in the snow rose up like a fountain and took on the shape of a great lady, taller than any woman the cows had ever seen in Chugwater town. She was covered in a dark midnight blue dress with long floppy sleeves from her neck to her feet, and her hair was black as ebony which flowed down to her thin waist. She wore a shining silver crown made of icicles and she had cold baby-blue skin with blue-violet lips, pointed ears and steel-blue eyes. Her fingernails were pointed and sharp, but not too long. Behind that beautiful face was something cold, stern and an even greater malice.

"C…C…Crystal," Ester stammered. Even the reindeer stood petrified not knowing what to do about her. That was the woman's name alright; the same lady that Ester did not want the cows to know about. Taking her eyes away from the reindeer, she strode over casually to who might have been sitting inside the sleigh. It was the same three visitors she witnessed in her ice mirror. Right now they just sat in there with puzzled expressions. What could she possibly want with them?

"Well, well, well, what a pleasant surprise it is to see you here," she said with an unpleasant grin. "I'd never thought I would live to see the day when three outsiders would enter this enchanting realm by accident."

"Who are you and what do you want?" Mrs. Calloway spoke sternly.

"I'm Crystal, the Ice Empress of Stone Cold Mountain. From there, I am responsible for the blizzards that arrive every single winter season. Of course, in order to get there, one must pass through the forbidden ice caverns," Crystal moved slowly in the back of the sleigh with her arms behind her back whilst still talking. "Why would any of you want to waste your time getting to the North Pole only to be caroling, gift wrapping, and eating sweets when…?"

Maggie cut her off "Look ice lady, whatever kind of scam you're pulling on us, it ain't gonna work. We already know where we're heading right girls?" The other two nodded their heads which tried to convince Crystal that the answer was no. But she wasn't finished talking.

"You interrupt me?" Crystal demanded moving to the right side of the sleigh. "When all I'm trying to do is offer you a chance of immortality?"

"Immortality, what do you mean?" Grace asked curiously.

"Why darling, I mean that I can offer you all the ability to go on living throughout the years without fear of having to die like all the other mortals around you. But all you have to do is be my servants and join me in creating the most wondrous winter wonderland there is on earth."

"I think we'll pass on that one miss, but thank you for the time you made us waste," Mrs. Calloway declared bravely. She along with the other two should know better than to accept a hard bargain from a stranger they just met.

"And our answer to you is still no," Maggie added. From the terrible expression on Crystal's face, she was not about to take no for an answer.

"If you're not going to cooperate, than I might as well…" surprisingly the cows saw her creating some kind of blue ice orb in the palm of her hands growing from small to large and it looked as if she was planning to aim it at them. "…have to settle this the more simpler way." The cows cowered when she raised the ball in midair and were preparing for whatever kind of attack she would give each of them. Instead of being hit, they heard Crystal utter a piercing scream. Opening their eyes, they stared in bewilderment when the woman tried to back away from the bright shining red light coming from the nose of another flying reindeer.

**_Disclaimer_**: _The original story of Rudolph was told by a man named Robert "Bob" May as comfort for his daughter and has now become an instant holiday classic and song. I own nothing of the Christmas stories or songs._


	4. Land of Sweet Candy

**Chapter 4: Land of Sweet Candy**

"Get that light out of my eyes!" The cows continued to watch as a familiar small reindeer kept its shining nose straight at Crystal. The nose kept on glowing until she transformed herself into a blizzard tornado and disappeared into the woods. "I'LL BE BACK FOR YOU COWS. ONE WAY OR ANOTHER I WILL BE BACK!" they heard her call out.

"Yeah well when you come back, we'll be waiting to stomp on your toes!" Maggie called back.

Grace still had her eyes on the red-nosed reindeer. From the looks of it, it could only be…

"Rudolph!" Ester shouted in delight. "It's great to see you, but how did you get here so fast?" The light from Rudolph's nose diminished as he walked toward Santa's sleigh. Grace, filled with excitement had pushed her friends aside to have a better look at him. She fluttered her eyes repeatedly to make sure she wasn't dreaming, but he was still there, just as the song described him.

"Well," began Rudolph, "I was taking my usual walk in Christmas Tree Forest singing merrily with other reindeer until I saw some rabbits run up to warn me that the forest animals were trapped in blocks of ice cubes. I hurried to melt them out with my nose before some of them warned that Crystal was up to no good. So I flew over the forest as fast as I could to find you before she did. And I'm just relieved to see that nobody was seriously hurt." When he finished, Grace had lost her head completely from too much excitement.

"Howdy there Rudolph! She cried out merrily, "My name is Grace and this here is Maggie and Mrs. Calloway; it's really an honor to meet you here in Christmas Tree Forest. We all heard about you in a song that goes like this." Grace cleared her throat and was about to sing the song, but the other two quickly covered her mouth before she had a chance to do so. Reluctantly, they grinned at Rudolph in embarrassment.

"Sorry about her," Maggie was still trying to keep her mouth from singing. "Our friend always gets carried away from too much excitement in a place like this, especially around Christmas time."

"Oh that's alright," Rudolph let out a slight giggle. "You can trust me and all the other reindeer here. You know their names don't you?"

"Sure I do," Grace jumped out of the sleigh ignoring Mrs. Calloway's order to get back in and ran over to the eight reindeer. "That's Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, and Vixen. That there is Comet, Cupid, and Donner, and Blitzen." Of course, the reason why she could tell who they were was because of the metal name tags under their collars.

"AHEM!" Grace could hear Mrs. Calloway clear her throat loudly signaling her to get back in the sleigh. After doing so, she turned to the reindeer. "Forgive me for interrupting this merry introduction, but shouldn't we all get a move on before that incompetent ice woman shows up again?"

"She's right you know," Ester had just remembered what he was supposed to do. "We better hurry."

"But where are you all going?" asked Rudolph before Ester snapped the reins.

"We're on our way to Candy Land. With all the bright lights, Crystal won't be able to enter through there."

"How about you let me light the way," Rudolph suggested. "I mean just until we get there." Ester nodded his head in response. He just couldn't say no after the good-natured reindeer had saved the cows' lives from that ice woman.

From behind one of the trees, Crystal watched as Rudolph moved up in front of the eight reindeer to light their way through the foggy snowy blizzard to make it easier for Ester to ride better throughout the forest.

"There must be way to catch those cows without the risk of becoming shined on by that pesky reindeer's nose," She whispered in the breezy wind blowing amongst the trees and kept on plotting until an idea popped into her head. "Well I'll catch up to them later. Right now, I must concentrate on how I'm going to swipe off the Star, without the risk of being blind." In truth, Crystal had always been afraid of bright lights and the warmth of Christmas cheer and would do anything to avoid all of that at all costs.

* * *

_Outside the entrance of Candy Land_

The sleigh skidded to a halt in front of a bridge that had been made of shining lemon drops as bricks and iced frosting for cement. The bridge lead to a gate made of polished peppermint candy canes. The cows hopped off the sleigh and were dazzled by the sweet scented atmosphere surrounding them.

"That is the entrance to Candy Land," Ester advised. "From here I shall leave you, for I have just remembered that I should be helping with getting the reindeer ready for Christmas Eve night."

"How about I go with them, in case Crystal comes back?" Rudolph suggested, knowing that it might not be a wise choice to leave the cows journeying alone without any special guidance.

"Good idea, Rudolph will be able to help you girls out, he's been here plenty of times and knows the way around," He snapped the reins a moment before the sleigh took off into the air and evaporated behind the pink cotton candy clouds.

"Come on, this way," The cows followed behind Rudolph along the lemon drop bridge.

"Remarkable young lad isn't he?" Mrs. Calloway spoke in disbelief. Although she had become enchanted by the sight of Christmas Tree Forest and relieved for being saved, she was still concerned about being far away from Patch of Heaven in a world unlike any other region they ever visited in the real world. It was still unbelievable; and yet they were here being lead by a supposed-to-be fictional character.

"Halt, who goes there?" the four travelers were stopped at the peppermint gate by a gingerbread soldier only five inches tall holding a cookie sword in hand. "Oh Rudolph, it's only you, but who are these other three?"

"Don't worry, they're with me. I'm taking them to go see Santa so that he can get them back home to a dude ranch in Colorado." The gingerbread soldier took one look at the girls and smiled.

"Well any friend of Rudolph's is always welcome here in Candy Land. I'll open the gates for all of you." Pushing it open, the cows were blown away by the sparkling sight of a magnificent gold fountain of a pink foaming liquid spewing out at the top like a geyser. But that wasn't the only surprise; around them were gingerbread houses decorated with chocolates, gumdrops, bonbons, and frosting. Down the lemon drop streets were little gingerbread people waving hello to whoever passed by their houses.

"If any of you are wondering what that is, it's the Lemonade Fountain," Rudolph said cheerfully. Lemonade Fountain? Grace moved closer to the gold fountain to stare at her reflection in the running pink fluid. She and the girls had heard of yellow lemons, but definitely not pink lemonade. Without warning, Grace had her entire head splattered and soaked by a splash of lemonade from the fountain above. Although she was surprised, there were a couple of minimal drops that entered her mouth allowing her to taste the flavor. It was the sweetest, sour, and fruitiest fluid she had ever tasted; even fruitier enough to leave her desiring for more as she dunk her head into the foaming liquid.

"Grace, what do you think you're doing?" Mrs. Calloway coaxed furrowing her brow. "You know better than to eat sugar." But Grace wasn't listening. She was still slurping down gulps of the sweet lemonade fountain.

"Well now that's what I call a saccharine appetite," Maggie joked while watching the heifer keep on going. "Hey Grace, save some for me why don't you!" Soon Maggie dunked her head into the foamy lemonade taking big gulps creating a few bubbles underneath. Mrs. Calloway winced from having to hear the unsatisfying gurgling coming from her. That cow's manners were at most times revolting.

"Boy you girls sure don't get a lot of sweets in your town, am I right?" Rudolph asked Mrs. Calloway surprisingly by the looks of the two girls still slurping away.

"No we don't, and there is a good reason why we shouldn't be allowed to eat a single one," Mrs. Calloway began stomping over to the fountain with a stern look and her lower lip sticking out. Standing on her hind legs, she placed her front hooves under each scarf and pulled their lemonade-soaked heads out of the fountain. "That's enough pink lemonade for the both of you. If you want to make it through without a stomach ache, we still have a long way to get to the North Pole."

"But you haven't even tasted it Mrs. C, it's still running," Maggie tried to encourage her to try it herself.

"Oh please, with all that ill-mannered slurping, I wouldn't bother to taste a single drop," Mrs. Calloway used her tail to hold on to Grace's pink scarf in case she were to think about running back to the fountain for another drink. But Grace still knew there would be other satisfying sweets in Candy Land to taste besides the pink Lemonade Fountain.

"See there you go again with that stiff tone, why not try something new for once?" Maggie asked feeling a little drunk and walking in an imbalanced position. "I promise it will definitely have you feeling merry…BBBBBUUUUURRRRRRPPPPP!!!" Maggie had unexpectedly blown an enormous belch straight at Rudolph, Grace, and Mrs. Calloway causing the hairs on their hides to frizzle. Each of them had stared back at her blankly while blinking. "Oops, excuse me, I needed that," Maggie had her hoof over her mouth blushing. "Hey Grace, why don't you sing a Christmas song, I'm sure these two would love to hear it now won't you?"

"Really? Ok then…" Grace cleared her throat and sang. "…Have a holly jolly Christmas, it's the best time of the year, I don't know…" Grace continued singing as Rudolph was once again leading them down the lemon drop road. Mrs. Calloway's eyes narrowed from having to listen, yet this time it was a drunken Maggie who suggested that she sing. But once the effect wears off, she'll be irritated as well.

"Oh brother, just what I need," she whispered sarcastically.


	5. The Pudding Palace

**Chapter 5: The Pudding Palace**

_Hot Fudge Mountain_

Throughout that time, Grace went on singing a few more carols such as _Jingle Bells_, _Deck the Halls_, and the song of Rudolph in which the red nosed reindeer had actually enjoyed listening to. He believed that no matter how well or bad someone sang it was how it made them feel deep inside. That was because he had often heard a few of the reindeer sing a little off key before and had gotten used to it. And from the looks of her face, she seemed quite happy already. Maggie on the other hand was still overcome with dizziness from the amount of lemonade she slurped up and was still walking unsteadily. In this state, she didn't seem to be annoyed with the happy heifers off key singing. With a dazed expression on her face, she would just encourage her to keep on caroling with words like "you go cowgirl" or "keep up that tune."

Rudolph led them through a few areas of Fudge Hills where lumps of chocolate fudge stood out like rocky plateaus. It was like traveling in a canyon of hidden chocolate all over the place. The Rainbow Bridge which glowed out from a pot of chocolate coins wrapped in gold paper, and Lollipop Forest where all types of colored lollipops of different shapes and sizes stuck out of the ground covered in white sugar. Right now, he was leading them through a place called Hot Fudge Mountain where there stood a mountain of vanilla ice cream with gobs of flowing chocolate syrup, whip cream, chopped up nuts and a cherry on top. It might have taken an entire civilization to try and gobble up the mountain. The sweet scent was unbearable to Maggie and Grace who now strongly desired a taste of it, but Mrs. Calloway would say "no" whenever one of them tried to have a bite out of any more candy. She for once did not want the chance of hearing a belly ache throughout this adventure and Rudolph couldn't blame her for that.

"We're almost there everyone," the reindeer spoke out as the group now passed through Hot Fudge Mountain.

"What, the North Pole?" asked Maggie.

"Not quite, we're still a long ways off, right now the Pudding Palace is straight ahead," The group stared at a beautiful golden glow before them. The building was similar to a giant birthday cake. From top to bottom, each layer went down from small to large. "Do any of you girls know what lies in there?"

"Sure we do, this one owl flew over the sleigh and asked if we had come from the Pudding Palace," Maggie spoke in a spaced-out tone while gazing off in the other direction. It almost looked as if she were talking to the air above. "I told him that we were not from here and we ain't ever heard of no Pudding Palace with rainbow sugar cows creating flavored pudding before. No sir, I'd rather be eating candy than serving it. Ho don't mind if I do," with her narrowed eyes locking onto a rainbow sprinkled bonbon bush, she plucked one off and took a big bite. One the outside, it was coated in a pink shell and the inside was filled with a soft gooey jelly that hung halfway out of her mouth after biting it.

"Maggie, did it ever occur to you that if you swallow candy like that, you'll become more round and slow than you can ever imagine? If I were you, I'd think twice before eating some more," Mrs. Calloway choked back a feeling of disgust whilst trying to convince her to slow down with the chewing. Finally, Maggie ceased gobbling and looked at Mrs. Calloway as if she had bugs crawling all over her face. The proper cow winced back from more disgust at the sight of jelly marks all over her snout.

"Care for a bonbon? It will make you feel merry on the inside!" Maggie offered her the half-eaten bonbon.

"That's it, I've had enough!" Mrs. Calloway gave her an incredulous look and slapped her on both cheeks repeatedly hoping that it would be enough to snap her out of dizziness state. Dropping the bonbon, Maggie seemed to regain her composure then and was no longer narrowing her eyes or glaring off into different directions.

"What just happened?" Maggie glared at Mrs. Calloway with a puzzled expression. It almost seemed that she couldn't remember how she got here.

"Well my dear," began Mrs. C with a fake smile, "apparently you and Grace had been drinking endlessly off the fountain of that pink lemonade and wouldn't stop, so I had to drag the both of you out of there forcefully." Then she walked slowly around Maggie while going on. "Then after that, you were trotting unsteadily from the effects of SUGAR INGESTION offering crude remarks and encouraging Grace to go on with her off key singing. Then after you tried to offer me a bonbon that was already half eaten I had no choice but to snap you out of it with a few slaps across both cheeks."

Still confused, Maggie placed her hooves on her cheeks firmly to feel for any slight pain. Only a small sting, but it wasn't too hurtful. In a few moments, it would wear off. "You sure got a pretty powerful slap there Mrs. C." She said softly. "Now would you like some candy?" What; after all that slapping she did and this girl still wanted to offer her candy?

"NO, FOR THE LAST TIME I DO NOT WANT CANDY!" Mrs. Calloway wailed in her face and stomped her right foot at the same time.

"Why are you two still standing there!" the two noticed that Rudolph and Grace were now a few feet away from them and the reindeer had been calling out from a distance. "We still have to get to the Pudding Palace, now come on!"

Maggie and Mrs. Calloway glared at each other shockingly and rushed over to rejoin them on the lemon drop bridge. Nobody, not even Maggie said a single word or offered anymore candy (what a relief.)

* * *

_Gates of the Pudding Palace_

As the group walked on, the golden glow became brighter every moment. Grace could feel her throat run dry from having to sing so much on the way and decided it would be best to let her vocal cords rest for a while. Mrs. Calloway had still been a little irritated from Maggie's drunken crude remarks, but was able to forgive her after listening to Rudolph's helpful friendship advice and when Maggie admitted that she never really meant any of those words or planned to get carried away with too much drinking. She just couldn't find it in her heart to not accept her apology. After all, Mrs. Calloway may have been stiff and proper most of the times, but she was not made of hard ice. Even Rudolph could already see through all that just as he knew that Grace meant well with her singing.

"There it is!" cried Grace happily. "The Pudding Palace; isn't it the most wondrous sight?" The palace still looked like an enormous birthday cake decorated in gold frosting, pink roses, red ribbons, and silver flags sticking out of the layers. "I can't wait to see how the other cows will look like."

"Whoa, that is the most gigantic cake I have ever laid my eyes upon!" Maggie hollered from bewilderment. "I just hope it's not another one of those places that serve nonfat or sugar free pudding if you know what I mean."

"No, everything in Candy Land is made with sugar in it," promised Rudolph with a smile. "But try not to get carried away with too much eating because of…you know what." Maggie could understand that he must have been mentioning the lemonade boozing incident. She drank it down faster than Grace did. This time, she was not going to let that happen again. "Just follow me and we'll be there in time." It was five minutes before the four came to a white marbled wall surrounding the Pudding Palace with a gate made of giant squared chocolate chip cookie doors standing before them.

The gates looked sweet and tempting enough to eat, but neither Maggie nor Grace bothered to try and take a big chunk from it knowing that there might be gate left if the whole thing was to be eaten. And despite being dazzled by the brilliancy of the palace, Maggie did not want to irritate Mrs. Calloway any further than she did by going overboard with the sweets again.

There was a bell beside the gate embedded in the wall in which Rudolph pushed leaving a twinkling echo like pixie dust. Then the cookie gates swung open slowly allowing the group to pass through and find themselves in a big stable like no other. Inside there appeared to be gorgeous milkmaids milking cows coated in bright colors of either pink, purple, green, orange, blue, yellow, aquamarine, red, silver, or gold with grey patches. Whenever the job was done, the milkmaids would walk out of the stables to take the buckets inside the golden building through one door and arrive back outside from the next door. One of the milkmaids spotted Rudolph with the girls just before she had a chance to go inside and dump off the milk.

"Why Rudolph, what a coincidence it is to see you drop by for a visit," she said surprisingly. The maid had blond curly hair long eyelashes, pale skin, rosy dimples, and a long blue dress with long sleeves, a white apron, and light brown boots with black laces. "But why aren't these cows coated in bright colors?"

"That's kind of a long story," answered Rudolph. "Right now I'm taking them to go see Santa so that he can take them home."

"Well no wonder they seem so different. Enjoy yourselves here while you're at it; I still have to get this milk inside before it spoils," the milkmaid turned to walk inside the building.

The cows didn't mind with what she said about them being different, because they had known she meant no offense and were too busy exploring the stables to care about it. Most of the pudding cows were busy chewing on sweet piles of hay to pay the least amount of attention to the average dairy cows.

"So this is what Mr. Frazzle meant when he asked if we were pudding cows," Grace murmured with astonishment as she watched a brunette milkmaid in a yellow dress milk a pink cow with brown blotches. The milk looked to be the creamiest foaming substance anyone might have tasted. Another unusual thing was that the milk was pink instead of white. If that was so, then all the other cows that gave milk were of different colors like their coats. If she or Maggie were allowed to do so, she could hardly wait to see how the pudding tastes.

"Oops, excuse me dear," said a milkmaid when she had nearly bumped into Grace to get through. Grace moved closer to the other side of the stable so that she would allow other maids to pass through without accidentally bumping into her. The pink cow had black eyelashes, sapphire eyes, rosy dimples, and shining polished yellow horns. Whilst still chewing, she paused a moment after taking a glare at Grace who was nothing compared to any of the other pudding cows.

"Oh hello there, are you a pudding cow?" the pink cow asked in a sweet kindly voice. Grace reluctantly shook her head in response to the question.

"No I'm just an average dairy cow from the other side of this hidden realm."

"My, what a surprise, we heard many stories about the world of mortals. But never have we thought of meeting one someday."

"But I'm not the only one who has entered, there are two more of my friends over there," Grace pointed her direction to Maggie and Mrs. Calloway who were chatting with a friendly purple pudding cow. So far, it seemed to be going well without anybody being sarcastic as before. The two of them had been trying to explain how they got in this realm by Santa's sleigh being ridden by Ester the gnome and how he had refused to tell them about Crystal, the Ice Empress of Stone Cold Mountain. Maggie couldn't really blame him for not wanting to talk about her as she understood why some things were better left unsaid when Ester refused to talk about Crystal to anyone.

"So you three arrived here by taking a ride in Santa's sleigh?" asked the pink cow curiously. Grace nodded with a smile. "I just hope the head elf doesn't find out about the little guy taking his sleigh without permission. We have rules in this world that should not be broken. And I suggest that all of you avoid encounter with Crystal at all costs. She's one cold hearted woman with an icy attitude."

"Hey Grace, come one we're going inside to tour the palace!" Rudolph had just called out to her as the other two followed him.

"I've got to go. It was nice talking to you and thanks for your advice," Grace replied as she rushed over to her friends.

* * *

_Inside the Pudding Palace_

Rudolph led the cows into a room with several enormous silver tin bowls where every milkmaid walked up on a stair ladder to dump the colored milk. After the milk was dumped off, the maids that worked inside the building would stir some ingredients such as sugar, eggs, and all other things that create good pudding. The next step was to pour the milk onto a half opened pipe below each bowl which would lead into a secret room with a machine not meant to be seen by wandering eyes.

Even though none of them were able to see how it was being made on the other side, the sounds of the mixing and blowing could still be heard. When one of them asked how it was being done, Rudolph mentioned that a good cook never reveals their secrets, not even to him or Santa Clause.

By the end of the tour, a red haired milkmaid in a red dress stood by a silver machine with a handle. Pulling it all the way down, three small silver bowls slid down from a hole in the wall under the machine to allow pudding to flow down until the bowls were full. The milkmaid offered each of the cows a taste of the pudding; even Mrs. Calloway decided just this once to have a taste of it. She took the purple, Maggie took the red, and Grace took the pink. It was indeed creamier and sweeter than any other pudding back at home. And a lot better than regular milk.


	6. The Mad Chocolate Moose Chase

**Chapter 6: The Mad Chocolate Moose Chase**

_Chocolate Milk Sea_

Thirty minutes had gone by since the group left the Pudding Palace. The colorful pudding was so tempting that Maggie and Grace kept on asking for seconds, resisting Mrs. Calloway's attempt to pull them out. Rudolph had to help her out before the both of them had the chance of eating everything in the entire palace. Mrs. Calloway had enjoyed the purple pudding herself but did not get carried away with craving for more like the other two since she thought that one was enough. Now they were riding across the Chocolate Milk Sea on a boat made out of graham crackers with marshmallow sauce and chocolate bars, pulled by four large chocolate swans. The magnificent swans seemed just as realistic as any real swan in a lake. Most of them would fly above the Chocolate Milk Sea as if they were dancing. Grace gazed dreamily at the swans flying high above and floating wherever the currents took them. Down below the boat, she could see her pretty reflection in the creamy satisfying sea of chocolate milk smiling back at her. If this whole magical adventure was nothing more than a dream, than it was surely something she would never want to awaken from until it was truly over.

"Hey Rudolph, how deep is the Chocolate Milk Sea?" asked Maggie after taking a sip of the creamy foaming substance. To her, it wasn't anymore satisfying than the Lemonade Fountain, but it was still tasty.

"It only stretches up to 12 ft, but I still wouldn't intend to go for a swim in it. The swans you see here don't really like anybody other than themselves swimming in their territory. They can get pretty cranky about it." The group stared at the swans wondering how the geese react when feeling cranky, but soon decided to let it go for now. The boat sailed on through the milky currents sloshing in its silkiness.

* * *

_Candy Cane Alley_

"This is Candy Cane Alley," announced Rudolph as the group walked along the road to an area with giant peppermint candy canes sticking out of the fields like cornstalks surrounded by wooden fences, "In here; candy comes out of the soil and grows like regular plants you see in a garden."

"Wow, I've heard of growing vegetables on a farm, but never thought I see a candy garden. This is amazing," said Maggie gazing with awe at the splendid fields. The sound of hummingbirds sipping at nectar flowers filled with a sweet honey perked at their ears. On one side of Candy Cane Alley, another field of nectar flowers sweetly scented the air as more hummingbirds pecked at them. This was the perfect spot for growing honey and for use in creating specific types of candy recipes. Everywhere candy such as bonbons, lemon drops, cupcakes, toffee, jelly beans, peppermint drops, licorice, pastries, and lollipops sprang from the ground from small to large.

If possible, this might have been a favorite spot for tourists to come and pick at candy like they would for strawberries and vegetables, but the only thing that can ever prevent anyone from treading through lied somewhere in the midst of the gardens in which Grace would soon find out about.

"Over there is where the peppermint bushes grow candy canes and cream colored cookies," Rudolph pointed his direction to a few bushes covered in peppermint colored leaves. "And that over there is where the trees grow frosted covered donuts," on the right side of the road stood trees glimmering with gold leaves along with donuts hung from the branches just like an average apple tree. Only there were no traces of fruits or vegetables in the Land of Sweet Candy. A gentle breeze was blowing making the tree branches rustle and twinkling like a beautiful tune from a music box which rang in everyone's ears softly.

While Rudolph continued on with his description of every acre of the candy fields, Grace could feel her mouth salivate and dribble by gazing at every sweet in the gardens with her gums clapping and her tongue licking. Taking one look at the other two cows, they were too busy listening to Rudolph talk about where the candy goes after being picked once their full grown and none of them even noticed her sneaking over the fence and through the candy fields approaching the donut trees. Right now she began thinking with her stomach as she craved for more sweets that she had not yet tasted. She hopped up to grab a pink frosted sprinkled donut with her teeth. It was sweet and tempting which spread a childish smile across her frosted stained mouth. After that she went for another with custard filling on the inside and took a bite out of another made of pure chocolate that melted in her mouth and went smoothly down her throat. The pleasant donuts had attacked her taste buds craving for more.

Happily skipping like a deer away from the donut trees, she danced from field to field, tree to tree, and bush to bush plucking every tiny candy to stuff inside her mouth. In fact, she was so dream dazed that she barely recognized a sign hidden in a different field labeled **KEEP OUT**: _**candy fields guarded by** **MAD CHOCOLATE MOOSE!**_ Finally, Grace stopped skipping and sat down next to a garden of cupcakes, toffees, and chocolate almond bars to have a few more bites before heading off to rejoin the group, believing that she would eventually catch up to them anytime. Plucking a chocolate bar, she shoved it into her mouth as the pure, rich, creamy flavor melted inside. She thought it felt sticky and gooey but didn't seem to care.

"This is the best chocolate I have ever tasted," she said in some kind of joyful, sweet, appetizing trance as she plucked a cupcake and another chocolate bar. The cool thick almond chocolate stuck to her mouth as she chewed and chewed with her mouth slightly open. Her eating manners were becoming as revolting and sloppy as Maggie's ever were. This was definitely a dream she certainly did not want to wake up from. In fact, it almost seemed like nothing could ever stop her from going on with chewing away the sweets in the gardens. Or so she thought!

While she was still crunching on the almond bar, a dark silhouette figure with strange enormous antlers sticking out of its head formed on the ground closer and closer near her sitting position. Because of the crunching, she was unable to hear anyone approaching her until she felt a sort of furious snort behind her head and the stomp of a foot. She had known of the presence when the snorting grew louder and heavier like a train ready to take off at a high speed. With her cheerful happiness replaced by confusion, she began to turn her head slowly as she kept hearing the heavy snorting grow hotter directly on top of her. Behind her, she found herself glaring at the angry eyes of a mighty, muscular, chocolate moose with a long muzzle, long spindly legs, white teeth resembling a bulls, and broad antlers arising as cylindrical beams large enough to tear anybody apart. But the question that rang in her mind was how a big animal like him would be doing wandering around a happy place like Candy Land when they should be in Montana or Canada. Now Grace could feel her stomach churn when the moose moved its face closer to hers whilst still snorting. But what did she do that caused him to fuel? She could only remember running amuck in the fields taking almost every last bit of half-grown candy and knocking into something hard and wooden, but was unable to get a good glimpse of it. With the moose snorting and tapping his right foot impatiently, Grace stared up at him trembling.

"Um, ugh I…ugh hello, want some?" Grace offered the moose a pink frosted cupcake hoping that it might calm his anger. But the moose did not seem to buying it as its head leaned forward till it touched her snout. "Or maybe not!" With a nervous grin, Grace gulped and made a run for it a moment after the moose began scratching the dirt roughly preparing to charge her like a mad bull. She darted through the fields shoving aside any stalk blocking her path of escape.

"What have I done to make him angry?" Grace said to herself huffing and puffing. "All I did was mind my own business with the candy and…OOF!" Grace was cut off when she hesitantly bumped her body into a hard piece of wood. From the words on the sign, it was then that she understood about the anger of the moose and what a grave mistake she made by jumping in this place. "OH NO, NO WONDER HE'S ANGRY; I'VE BEEN TRESSPASSING!" Grace slapped her hooves over her cheeks pulling them down in a surprise panic.

GGGRRRRR! It was then that the moose appeared again behind her snorting madly and digging his right foot in the dirt madder than ever. The blond heifer's eyes widened leaving the moose behind in a puff of smoke clouds forming in his face.

"Why doesn't anybody put up more signs out here instead of one?" she said hesitantly, still pushing through the stalks. "Then again, if I hadn't been thinking with my taste buds, I'd still be with the others. Now I have to find them." Grace felt a small sense of relief when she found herself out of the candy field staring at the fence within a mile away from where she was still running. Taking one last look back, the moose had been gaining up on her faster than she might have thought. Still, she kept on moving fast enough in order for her to gain altitude for a high jump over the fence. The moose kept on charging straight at Grace and then when she had least expected it, he had head-butted her from behind the moment she had slowed down halfway toward the fence. To her, his charge felt like slamming her backside against a hard canyon wall. Now the force of the charge was powerful enough to send her soaring over the fence like a small rock being kicked by a boot.

"OOF!" Grace grunted the moment she landed back on the road sliding until she was 15ft away from the fenced area. Dusting herself off, she turned back to take one last look at the moose to see if he was still steamed off. There he was behind the fence snorting madly still. "Maybe he just doesn't like Christmas cheer or me at the least," she said a moment after heading off to rejoin her friends still listening to Rudolph tell a story.

"Oh, I almost forgot to mention ladies," said Rudolph. "Don't go wandering over in the candy fields. It is guarded by Chuck, the big chocolate moose with a bad temper and will charge anybody he sees plucking those candies."

"Oh now he tells us," Grace whispered under her breath sarcastically. Of course, she still knew it was her own fault for wandering away from the group.


	7. The Cherry Punch Blizzard

**Chapter 7: The Cherry Punch Blizzard**

_Candy Cane Alley_

"What else can you tell us about Chuck?" asked Grace, trying to hide her shame with her innocence hoping that no one would suspect that she was not with them.

"Well you see miss, the farmer who owns this garden had mentioned a few times that he doesn't like any of us roaming on his property or being disturbed; so he believed a great big moose would be a much more dependable guard than a dog. And he was right. One time, several gingerbread children snuck in through the fence taking everything they could until Chuck appeared from behind the stalks and chased them away with his antlers. Ever since then, nobody has ever tried to sneak in there; unless they want to come face to face with the mighty moose.

"A moose here in Candy Land?" Mrs. Calloway snorted in disbelief.

"A giant chocolate moose ma'am," answered Rudolph, "a real moose couldn't take living in this environment even if he wanted to."

"But then why doesn't the farmer just put up a NO TRESSPASSING sign to keep people out of there?" Grace asked, still struggling to not give herself away.

"I don't know to tell you the truth. I tried talking him into putting up more than one sign up, but he just kept yelling at anyone who came near his house to be chased away by Chuck."

"Well if you ask me, it seems somebody's been getting up on the wrong side of the bed every morning," said Maggie in her usual sarcastic tone, staring at every stalk in the field. So far, she saw no sign of Chuck anywhere. "Does he only appear when…?"

BBBBUUUURRRPPP!! The sound of an enormous belch broke before Maggie could finish her question. Grace looked up toward the sky whistling a tune softly pretending she didn't hear a thing. Mrs. Calloway did not yet notice this as she gave Maggie a suspicious glare furrowing her brow.

"Don't look at me, I didn't do it," Maggie shook her head. "I was just trying to ask a simple question to Rudolph."

"But if you didn't do it, then who did?" Mrs. Calloway now became filled with concern looking around for who did release that rude belch. Rudolph and Maggie gave each other puzzled glares. The one thing that surprised Mrs. Calloway was that Grace still held her head high up staring at the sky with nervous sweat pouring down the side of her face. But another thing was that she had minimal stains of chocolate across her lips. With Mrs. Calloway frowning suspiciously, Grace had just forgotten that she was supposed to have cleaned her face before rejoining the group and now it was too late to do so. "Grace, did you go over the fence to eat more candy?" she stuck out her lower lip.

"Uh-uh…BBUURRPP!" Grace shook her head nervously, but then let out a soft belch that blew in Mrs. Calloway's face. Then she fainted on the road clutching her stomach groaning painfully as if someone had recently kicked her there. Mrs. Calloway watched the blond heifer roll out her pink tongue still moaning. Lowering her head closer to her mouth, she sniffed hesitantly and stared down at Grace with a disappointing frown.

"Hmm, chocolate I presume," she muttered, "well what do you have to say for yourself?"

"OOHH, my stomach hurts," Grace moaned lying on her side clutching her stomach.

"Well I'd moan too if I had ever eaten that many sweets," Maggie added in, "what else have you been up to?"

"Nothing," Grace lied, but the two were not buying it.

"You know Grace…," Mrs. Calloway now sounded like she knew her little secret, "…if I didn't know any better, I'd say you snuck off into that candy field, swiped some of those treats, and didn't stop until the you were caught, is that true?" Grace finally gave in knowing that lying was not going to get her anywhere at this moment.

"Yes Mrs. C," she answered weakly because of the ache in her stomach. "I'm really sorry; it won't happen again." At this point, she was feeling too sick to care about giving herself away.

"Well that might explain all the snorting and bellowing we've been hearing lately," said Maggie sarcastically.

"Alright, I believe you," Mrs. Calloway saw no point in scolding her any further. "But no more candy from now on." Grace nodded in agreement. She had enough tasty sweets for now. "We better move on," But of course, Grace had refused to sit up believing that her stomachache might only increase from all the tossing and turning.

"Oh now what do we do?" Maggie muttered. With her and Mrs. Calloway feeling a little frustrated with not knowing how to help, Rudolph walked slowly to Grace and lowered his head toward her.

"You shouldn't have wandered off like that by yourself," he said gently to her, "because even in this realm, there are many unknown dangers for us to watch out for." The other two watched as Rudolph offered Grace a sugar-free rainbow colored antidote he had tucked inside his collar the whole time (like a pouch.) "Here take this, it will make you feel better faster. They worked on Donner and Blitzen before," Lifting her head up; Grace chewed until she was able to swallow it down her throat. A few moments afterward, her stomachache decreased entirely. Grace was now able to sit up off the ground and stretch out her legs.

"Thanks," she said, "but what was that you gave me?"

"A rainbow drop to cure all forms of stomachaches," answered Rudolph, "I always carry them with me just in case."

"So now where do we go?" Grace was now ready for the next magical tour.

"To the Gingerbread Kingdom."

* * *

_Cherry Punch Lagoon_

"What's it like over at the Gingerbread Kingdom?" Grace asked Rudolph feeling better enough to turn back to excitement. The group had now entered a strange lagoon territory with sweet cherry punch for streams and waterfalls instead of water.

"Well you're going to love it. There's a dancing ballroom, a magnificent theatre, and a kind princess named Maple; I've met her before, she's a kind ruler."

The moonlight sparkled on the beautiful lake heavenly as the waterfall created a few small ripples. The stars up in the night sky twinkled as the cows watched them from down below the stone bridge where they stood to cross over the lake.

"This is the Cherry Punch Lagoon," said Rudolph, "in this place; it is always quiet and peaceful. Although there is nothing more to talk about in this territory, it is still a radiant sight to view, especially at night," The cows were enchanted by the beauty of the moonlight still shining upon the lagoon. Even more beautiful than any other pond back at home. Of course, there were never that many radiant lakes or streams to witness around their farm.

"Come on, there is another boat by the Cherry Sea that can take us to the Gingerbread Kingdom." The cows followed him across the bridge until the end of it reached a magnificent kind of garden covered with the most spectacular trees where red shining apples hung from the branches. The light from the moon created a sparkle on the outside.

"Apple trees?" said Mrs. Calloway surprisingly. "I thought there'd be no apples in this place."

"Those are candy apples actually," replied Rudolph, "sweet on the outside, juicy on the inside. And sometimes the clouds rain down punch." That was when a small thunder rumbled in the sky. The clouds grew from white to magenta creating a brief shower of reddish droplets down on them. To make sure, Maggie rolled out her tongue to have a taste. After a few drops, she curled her lips in her mouth from the sourness of the punch. Then her eyes bulged.

"WOW!" she hollered making the others jump in surprise. "This is even better than the Lemonade Fountain. Now where's the rest of the stream?" Maggie, who was now in a dream dazed state, turned back to cross over the bridge.

"Oh no here we go again," Mrs. Calloway sighed, rolling her eyes. The group chased after her. To their surprise, Maggie had somehow reached to the top of the cliff over the waterfall and was now preparing to make a jump inside the lagoon. "Oh now she's lost it this time," she scowled. "Get down from there right now!" But instead of climbing down, Maggie crouched lower and sprinted off the cliff to dive into the lagoon with a large splash that showered over the group. "Humph, that girl sure has a talent for showing off at a time like this," She narrowed her eyes sarcastically whilst squeezing the juice out of her scarf and purple hat.

"Let's help her out of there," Rudolph replied shaking himself. He could only giggle at what he witnessed on the cliff. Maggie was now becoming addicted to Cherry Punch as she did with the pink lemonade. And once they start with the drinking, it would be hard to put a stop to it.

Nervously Grace peered down into the cherry lagoon to check for any sign of Maggie. She herself was not used to being jumped out of her hide.

"Maggie?" she said. "Maggie? Are you still in…?" Suddenly she was pulled in by the shoulder blades headfirst into the lagoon. After a brief moment, Grace bobbed up gasping and coughing for air. At first she was shocked by that surprise, but then she licked her lips to have a taste of the punch. It wasn't any sweeter than the pink lemonade, but it sent a satisfying sensation throughout her body. Soon the two were back to where they started upon entering through the entrance of Candy Land as they were with the Lemonade Fountain.

Shrugging her shoulders, Mrs. Calloway marched straight to the lagoon to force Maggie out by her tail. Despite hearing Maggie's resistance to taste some more along with her being heavy, the proper cow kept on dragging her until they were beyond reach. She had been disappointed (not angry) with Maggie for breaking her promise about drinking so much. As much as she hated to do this to her, it was for her own good. Rudolph was able to help Grace out of the punch without force before the heifer realized that her friends were beyond the end of the stone bridge. Jumping out, the two followed behind.

Little did the adventurers know that the familiar form of a great black-haired lady had been spying on them from somewhere in the forest of candy apples watching their every move. When they were gone out of sight, Crystal stepped out from behind a candy apple tree throwing away the core of a candy apple which she had been eating. The sweet juice on the inside made a horrid stain over her mouth.

"Yes, hurry over to the Gingerbread Kingdom, my soon-to-be servants," she sneered crossing her arms. "Wouldn't want to miss out on Christmas now wouldn't we?" Brushing back her hair, she just remembered that tomorrow was Christmas Eve and she still needed to figure out a plan to lure those cows to her. Wiping her mouth, an evil smirk drew across her blue lips. "Hmm, if I can't get anyone to accept my word, than I will whisk one of them away to my castle and use her as bait to catch the rest." The sinister Crystal clapped her hands together rubbing them softly in delight. "Now who can reject that?"

* * *

_The Cherry Sea_

With the rain of punch still raining down from above, a boat colored and shaped like a wooden toy boat was tossed by the small waves thrusting it forward. This whole experience had been new to the cows since they had never been that used to traveling across the open sea. During that time, it was Maggie's turn to feel sick as she leaned against the boats rail with her eyes rolling in different directions and her face pale. So Rudolph had to offer her a rainbow drop antidote which made her feel better in no time. Maggie didn't think she would ever come across another area with substance as sweet as lemonade. She couldn't help herself; it was the best drink in all of Candy Land and yet drinking that entire amount made her sick. Maybe that would teach her to break promises. When Mrs. Calloway viewed her like that, she thought it would be best to just let her find out for herself instead of breaking into an endless argument. Grace on the other hand, had been facing the open Cherry Sea in amazement. With the gusty wind blowing through her face and rustling her pink scarf, she thought this ride was even more exciting than a train ride. A proud smile crossed her lips as she rushed about the deck to peer off toward the horizon. The rain drops had ceased, and the sky had been clear with the moon and stars twinkling.

Atop a rock that jutted out somewhere in the midst of the sea stood the Ice Empress clutching her fingers into fists. With the wind ruffling her black hair, Crystal gazed over at the boat heading toward the Gingerbread Kingdom at a distance.

"Let's see how they'll handle an extreme blizzard," she snickered. Taking a deep breath, the woman blew out a great gust of cold wind mixed with snow heading straight for the ship. "Have a nice chill, my servants!"

Nobody knew how it happened. One moment, they were feeling merry with Christmas cheer, and then next thing that happens is extreme coldness sending them shivering like leaves in the wind. Dark black clouds began to gather in the sky forming more gusts of strong snowy wind down upon them.

"What in tarnation is happening here?" hollered Maggie, clutching the edge of the boat. "You didn't tell us there'd be blizzards in this region."

"There are no real blizzards in Candy Land!" Rudolph called out among the pressuring snowstorm. "Crystal must have…WHOA!!" the force of the windstorm flung the reindeer high into the air and out of the cows' sight.

"Rudolph, come back!" Grace called out. But it was no use. The wind was too strong for the flying reindeer to handle and was blown aside until his red nose blinked out. The cherry waves continued to roll and toss the boat about while the cows watched the sea transform into a frozen ice lake trapping the boat halfway.

Grace had lost her grip on the edge and slid all the way down crossing over the frozen iced sea. She kept on sliding further and further away from the boat and finally slowed down to a stop. The blond heifer stared in bewilderment to find that she was within a mile away from the boat frozen in red ice. Grace struggled to stand up as she was now slipping and sliding back down falling flat on the side of her face.

"Oof, where did all this ice and snow come from?" Grace said to herself in a panic. Still on the ground, she could only move back slowly in fear of who may have been responsible for this raging, powerful blizzard. Then unexpectedly, she felt herself back into something else; but it didn't feel like ice. Grace turned her head around slowly and got a terrible shock to find the exact same woman she and her friends encountered in Christmas Tree Forest. Her jaw dropped as Crystal leaned down closer sneering into her face.

"From me, who else?" she blurted into fits of wicked laughter. "I can't believe you would repay me like this."

"What?" Grace asked nervously.

"Foolish cow; I had offered you and your friends the chance to live forever under my domain, yet you run out on me," she waved her arms madly in midair as if she were an average human being chased by bumblebees. "No matter now. Since neither any of you will agree with me, I'll be taking home the bait for now."

"Bait?" With her cold hands, Crystal seized Grace by the shoulder blades and scooped her up off the frozen sea. Soon she was staring eye to eye at the maddening face of the evil Ice Empress. Her hands were colder than ice sending her shivering on the inside and the tightness of her grip was so firm, it hurt.

"That's right dear," she hissed with a sharp glint in her eye. "You'll be the perfect bait to catch the rest of you altogether." Panic stricken, Grace struggled to break loose from her cold and painful grip, but to no avail. All the struggling made her tired.

"Let go of me, I don't want your offer!" she cried out in protest. But Crystal only chuckled at her outburst. Then Grace could feel the tip of her tail stop waving around and her shoulder blades become limp. Crystal's eyes flickered like candles, as she had been casting a spell allowing her to trap the heifer's body in ice. Grace stared down in shock to find that her hide was turning from blond to icy blue. "What's happening?"

"Nobody says to me!" she hissed as the ice spell over Grace continued to spread slowly from her shoulder blades to her hooves. "Be my servant now or spend eternity in my collection of ice statues." Grace gasped when she heard the last two words. So that's what was happening. She was in danger of becoming an ice statue and there was nothing she could do about it!

There was still no use struggling against the frosty ice that was overflowing her body. If she didn't think quickly, she'd be lost forever as a valuable collection to some enchantress. And she certainly didn't want that.

"Well my pet, what's it going to be?" Crystal was still waiting for an answer from her. The ice was rising covering all but Grace's head. She feared that Crystal would not stop the spell until she would say "yes." And she was running out of time.


	8. Refuge at the Gingerbread Kingdom

**Chapter 8: Refuge at the Gingerbread Kingdom**

Grace could now feel her floppy ears turning numb from the coldness of the ice spell still casting over her. With the Ice Empress now losing her patience with her, Grace had a feeling in her heart that she could not refuse Crystal's offer in this state. Gazing back at Crystal with sadness in her eyes, she was about to answer.

"Alright I'll…," Grace was cut off when she saw Crystal squeal and threw her arms over her face after releasing her shoulder blades. Grace fell back on the ice like a hard object without breaking. It was Rudolph flying by. Somehow or other, he had managed to make it in the nick of time through the terrible windstorm to save her life.

"Leave her alone and go back to where you belong!" she heard the reindeer cry out to Crystal who was now cowering from his glow. The Ice Empress had failed once again, but she was still determined to capture Grace at all costs for her plan to work. But for now, she transformed into a snowy whirlwind and took off into the distance. In truth, Crystal wanted the red-nosed reindeer to think that she had given up quickly since he was still unaware of her plot to steal the Christmas Star.

Once he was sure she was now out of sight, Rudolph went to check on Grace who was lying on her side, shivering beneath the frosty ice covering most of her body. Though she was lucky to not have her head frozen, the feeling of numbness had overcome her.

"Are you alright there?" he asked in a worried tone. Grace looked up at him shivering violently and nodded weakly, even though she knew that wasn't true at all. The ice woman's powers were nearly too intense for her to resist. Rudolph himself couldn't believe how much damage Crystal had done to the poor heifer. "Oh no, uh…hold still now," he stammered whilst lighting up his red nose. The glow illuminated her frozen body melting the ice like a sun shining on a frosted tree. That did the trick alright, but Grace was still shivering like crazy since part of her body was still looking blue.

Soon Maggie and Mrs. Calloway came sliding across the frozen Cherry Sea to check and see if everything was alright. They too had been shocked to see the terrible condition Grace was in. She had only been able to sit up halfway up with her front legs shaking, coughing hastily.

"Wait, it was her again wasn't it?" Mrs. Calloway asked in a tone mixed with anger and sadness at the thought of losing Grace to Crystal. "The ice woman?"

"We have to get her out of here somehow," Maggie replied, gazing at her surroundings. "But we can't walk through this ice without slipping over and over." She tapped her foot repeatedly on the ice until the bottom began to form a crack growing all over the Cherry Sea. The ice was breaking off! "Oops!"

"Quick, help me get her back to the boat!" Rudolph cried out, gently trying to help a shivering Grace off her feet. Knowing that this was not the time to blame somebody, the other two rushed over quickly. Soon Grace was leaning against Mrs. Calloway limping along as they struggled to trudge back to the boat on the slippery sea. Although the cracking of the ice was not nearly as quick as the adventurers thought it would be, they still needed to hurry to the Gingerbread Kingdom as fast as possible to warn Princess Maple that Crystal may still be lurking somewhere within Candy Land.

CCRRAAACCKKK!!! The ice began to break louder than before with the four now a few feet away from the boat still frozen halfway.

"There's the boat, let's move quickly!" cried Rudolph seeing that the boat was starting to toss from side to side, due to the ice becoming slushy.

There was no point in turning back or choosing to take a suicidal ride on an ice block once the sea becomes defrosted. By luck, they had made it back inside the boat as soon as the ice cracked into a million pieces. The few remaining fragments had floated in different directions across the restored Cherry Sea.

* * *

_Entrance of the Gingerbread Kingdom_

The group finally reached the entrance of the Gingerbread Kingdom where it was made out of many layers of frosting, gumdrops, licorice, lollipops, and chocolate bars. It was the size of an enormous medieval castle seen in picture books. Neither Maggie nor Grace showed any interest in taking a bite out of anything sweet. They both felt that a stomachache was bad enough. Even Maggie did not want to risk getting drunk off a few fanciful lemonade fountains they had passed by. And Grace who was still limping against Mrs. Calloway was in no particular state to get carried away with overeating on the sweets.

"Rudolph, what in the blazes has happened here?" a gingerbread soldier standing before the gates of the kingdom blurted in shock. For the civilians that have often heard about Crystal and her ice powers certainly did not want to mention her name in front of anybody. She had once done worst things to a few innocent civilians that were never seen again. And even though the soldier already had a feeling it was her that did this to the poor heifer, he did not want to think about what would happen if Crystal brought these cows to her home.

"Help us carry her inside and I'll tell you everything," begged Rudolph anxiously. The soldier was kind enough to do as he requested.

* * *

_Inside the guest room_

"So it was Crystal behind the freezing of the Cherry Sea is that true?" asked Princess Maple in a small sweet voice. Sitting atop a warm comfortable armchair, the kind ruler's appearance was similar to a china dolls with wavy curly brunette hair, pink dimples on her cheeks, shiny blue eyes, and red lips. Her blue Victorian-style dress seemed more like an upside down cupcake holder, decorated in the finest fanciful jewelry and silk. She had been sipping a cup of hot cocoa whilst listening to Rudolph explain how he had been helping the cows through Candy Land after they were brought into this realm by Ester riding Santa's sleigh. "I'll have to put the kingdom on high alert for tonight." Then she turned to the cows sitting on separate cushions. She had taken pity on Grace who was wrapped in a pink blanket close to the fireplace. "I'll even arrange a room for each of you while you're staying here."

"But your highness…" Mrs. Calloway protested feeling worried with thoughts of Pearl and the farm animals already wondering where they might be. "…we've been here wandering through the forest, touring the Land of Sweets, and facing a rather dangerous peril from the Ice Empress long enough. Our family back at home may think that we stumbled upon an even greater danger than anything we've faced out west."

"I'm sorry ma'am," replied Maple softly. "But right now, it may be too dangerous to continue your journey to the North Pole with the Ice Empress at large." She took a slight sip of her cocoa and continued. "Besides with your friend almost being captured by Crystal, I doubt she'll have any strength to make it all the way there."

Both cows turned to glare at Grace shivering, but not as violently as before. Every time she moved, her body would shiver more and her teeth chattered. Worse yet, she hadn't spoken a word since she had been struggling to make it from the frozen Cherry Sea to the Gingerbread Kingdom. Perhaps Princess Maple was right; they certainly didn't want to take another risk of putting Grace in danger of freezing to death or getting captured when they least expect it. Maggie turned back to Maple with a dismal look.

"Will she be alright?" she asked weakly.

"With a nice bedroom by a small fireplace and some rest, I believe she'll recover by morning," answered Maple with a small convincing smile, resting her cup of cocoa on a small table. "You three don't have to worry about anything else for now. A little rest is what you need." The princess clapped her hands and three gingerbread soldiers appeared before her.

"Yes, your highness?" one of the soldiers asked.

"Please show these wonderful guests to their bedrooms. They've had a long and tiring day throughout their journey."

"Yes, your highness," two of them helped a shivering Grace to her feet (with the blanket still covering her) while they followed the first soldier to a candy-free hallway of many wooden doors. They walked in silence until the soldier paused before a row of three separate rooms.

"Each of you ladies will sleep in your own room since they all only have one bed," he informed them.

"A bedroom?" Mrs. Calloway was confused. "But a cow sleeps in the stables."

"It is only for one night ma'am," the soldier promised. "I think you'll find it more comfortable than a simple stable; rest well now."

Grace did not have anymore trouble stepping into one of the rooms as she did with the traveling and finally handed the blanket to one of the soldiers that helped her. After walking in cautiously, the grand room had a cushy medium sized bed, a bathroom like nothing they've ever seen before, a glassed window to view the land from above, and a small fireplace giving off a warm, amber glow. Nothing in here was made out of candy; just an average bedroom. Surely, Grace would have no trouble sleeping tonight.

* * *

_Later that night_

Although it seemed rather strange to sleep in a place intended for people, the cows had no trouble falling asleep for the rest of the night. In one room, Maggie slept on the right side of the bed dreaming about floating above the Cherry Punch Lagoon on a raft. In this dream, she could drink and swim dreamily in the substance all she wanted with no one to put a stop to it. A smile crossed her face as she dreamt on.

In the other room, Mrs. Calloway had placed her purple bonnet and winter garments on a cushioned chair near the fireplace to dry as she slept. In her dream, she and the other two were back safe on the Patch of Heaven farm dancing along happily with the family. But in a moment, she had awakened and rose up halfway to find herself back in one of the rooms of the Gingerbread Kingdom. With a worried look, she rested her head back on the cushy pillow with a tired sigh and wondered if the family back on the farm had already learned about their disappearance. But with all the adventures she and her companions had faced in capturing Alameda Slim and rescuing Grace from the Texas bandit queen beauty, she had to believe that they would pull through this adventure in another realm.

In the next room, Grace had no trouble sleeping whatsoever with the soft blankets covering her body and the fire still glowing. The numbness in her body had decreased in a matter of minutes after going straight to sleep. She had been dreaming about walking amongst the candy fields in Candy Cane Alley eating most of the sweet cupcakes without getting a stomachache. And this time there was no moose named Chuck to go stampeding after her. The taste of toffee filled her mind with a desire for more delicious treats in the garden. Each piece of bonbon was sweet and light to the center and Grace had never tasted anything so delicious. When she finally stopped eating, she had traveled over to the Cherry Sea riding on the same boat with the windy air blowing across her face setting sail for the North Pole to see Santa Clause. Nothing would end this beautiful dream of hers.

But even while Grace slept peacefully, she never noticed Crystal peer through the window and watch the heifer breathing softly beneath the warm blankets. Her blue fingers curved madly in fury from having her plan to capture the heifer fail, no thanks to that pesky red nosed reindeer always getting in the way.

"Humph, there she is having sweet dreams of good for nothing holiday cheer," she whispered furiously. "Well she won't have them for long once I have her in my grasp at home."

She wanted to freeze open these windows and whisk Grace away to Stone Cold Mountain, but with the fire still burning in the bedroom and the kingdom being on guard, Crystal did not want anyone else to know of her devious plot to take the Christmas star for her own evil purposes and would prefer to do them in secret. Then a smirk crossed her face when she just remembered that she had also possessed the power of telekinesis besides freezing her victims.

"Now why didn't I think of that?" Crystal eyed the lock on the window and made a turn-around motion with her finger. Instantly the lock followed her motion and became unlocked. The windows creaked softly when opened and Crystal moved further from the fireplace burning about. Stalking over to Grace quietly, she took a step back in fear when Grace made a small movement with her head. Crystal chuckled softly with delight and continued to stalk toward the sleeping Grace.

"Pleasant dreams my pet," Crystal whispered as she was now over Grace. With a puff of her icy breath, she attempted to blow a snowy cloud over her body to trap her in ice while she still slept. Hopefully she could whisk her away and see her awaken in a cold cell once she removed the ice spell. As she blew over her head, the hairs off her hide rose up slightly. Crystal watched Grace shiver a bit and chatter her teeth.

"Burr…it sure is cold out here," Grace mumbled with a shiver. Crystal was a little relieved to see that her victim was still lost in her dreams to notice somebody lurking in her bedroom.

"That's it, keep dreaming," she whispered menacingly, preparing to continue with her icy breath spell until the turning of the doorknob entrance caught her attention.


	9. Dancing in the Ballroom

**Chapter 9: Dancing in the Ballroom**

One of the gingerbread soldiers on guard poked his head through the door after opening it. He thought he had heard some kind of mysterious blow and Grace shivering on the other side. He glanced back and forth so far seeing nothing but Grace sleeping well in the warm bed, yet the window was opened far and wide.

"Now how did that happen?" he said quiet enough to prevent himself from waking up the sleeping guest. Tip-toeing, he closed the window and locked it so that she would not wake up in the morning shivering. All guests should deserve to sleep warmly from the bitter cold. He tip-toed back outside and closed the door.

Crystal watched from behind the outside window several minutes before the soldier poked his head in the room. She had barely missed him at that moment and might have caused a widespread panic amongst the civilians.

"Drat!" she hissed in frustration pounding her fist against the window sides. "I have forgotten that I am powerless in a warm atmosphere. Now my ice powers are weakened for now. If I am to follow them, I'll need a disguise to avoid suspicion. In the meantime, I'll see them in Sweet Shop Lane." Crystal used her powers to transform herself into a kind looking blond haired cookie girl in a pink dress. "Care to try my frozen treats?" she disguised her cold voice with a kind tone. With that, she chuckled wickedly without waking up everybody.

* * *

_That morning_

"Did you sleep well Mrs. C?" Maggie asked as politely as possible while she walked alongside Mrs. Calloway.

"Well even though a cow is supposed to sleep in a stable," Mrs. Calloway began moodily; then her tone became lighthearted and a smile crossed her face. "I must admit that I've never slept peacefully in such a fine bed with such a warm fireplace." With that mentioned, she gave herself a tight hug in delight.

"Are you sure you slept well?" Maggie stared at her all confused. She did not remember the last time Mrs. Calloway started to feel cheerful when she had been rather strict with preventing her and Grace from eating sweets all over Candy Land.

"Sure as ever," she answered still smiling. OK maybe she had a right to do so since too much can not only make one sick, but also fat and slow, and they got sick from getting carried away and not listening. "Why, can't I be happy once in a while?"

"It's just that you were not acting like Miss Sunshine throughout this adventure and…"

"SLEEP WELL LADIES?" a gingerbread soldier appeared making them jump once the two reached the end of the hallway to the guest room where Princess Maple sat on her cushioned chair sipping what looked to be tea. And Rudolph had been sitting on a mat besides her awaiting them.

"Yes we did and it would help if you didn't surprise us like that in a high voice," Mrs. Calloway spoke giving him a serious look.

"She's right you know," added Maple adversely. "Please try not to scare the guests like that next time when they enter."

"I understand your highness," the soldier bowed at these words.

"But where is Grace your highness?" asked Maggie.

"She had woken up earlier before you did, feeling better than ever." Maple replied sipping her tea. "And now she's down in the ballroom where everyone is dancing with the music."

"Well that's a relief," said Maggie proudly. "But can you take us to where this ballroom is? We'd be honored to see what its like."

"Just follow me and you'll see what a glorious sight it is," setting the cup down, Maple arose and grabbed her scepter beside the chair.

The cows followed her down a long hallway where the melody of a sweet orchestra played in the distance. Finally, they paused in front of a door decorated the way a gingerbread cookie was normally made. The door revealed a grand ballroom with guests dancing in their finest suits and lavishing gowns shining from the light of the chandelier hanging above the center on the ceiling. And there was Grace in her winter garments, dancing on her hind legs with a charming gentleman in a pretty red jacket covered in gold braids, splendid black boots, and a white cotton wig on his head. The cows couldn't believe their eyes. Somehow or other, Grace filled with spirit and joy was waltzing merrily like a princess spending the night at a ball. Slowly picking up the pace, they continued to sweep joyfully across the dance without Grace setting one eye on her friends as they still gazed at her in bewilderment.

"Care to dance?" Mrs. Calloway turned her head when another charming gentleman in a blue suit held out his arm to for her to take. The proper cow did not know how to react to this. It wasn't that she didn't approve of dancing, but doing it in a room full of people had her worried that she might step on someone's foot by mistake.

"Um…well I…uh…" she stuttered but Maggie urged her to give it a try by pushing her into the man's arms to carry her off. Mrs. Calloway gave her a look meaning "I'm going to get you."

But Maggie only smiled and waved, and then her stomach began to growl. Her eyes caught a table of trays with donuts, cupcakes, and muffins beside the entrance door. Seeing as she might not be able to eat for the rest of the journey, she walked over and helped herself to some pink frosted donuts without getting carried away, knowing that it would not be polite to leave very little for other guests who might want some as well. She didn't care if whether or not someone would come up to her and ask for a dance since standing only on two legs was certainly not her idea of dancing; plus she thought that she might accidentally crush someone's toe or bump into someone causing them to fall down on one another. Heaving a sigh, she went back to eating.

Mrs. Calloway looked around nervously as she was still waltzing with the gentleman that came by earlier. The other dancers kept on waltzing in different directions eyeing each other, but she could not see where Grace had gone. It had almost seemed like hours since she last saw her waltzing, although she still knew that it had only been a couple minutes since they entered this ballroom to find her here. Suddenly, there she was being guided through the crowd, until they were out of sight once more. She seemed to be having a wonderful time waltzing, even though it might be true that they should be back on the road by now. The kind gentleman guided Mrs. Calloway through the other dancers holding her correctly without letting his hands slip off, a proper distance between their bodies. If she had fingers, she might have tightened her grip on his shoulder, but still he hung on to her without slipping. The candle lights sitting on the chandelier shone on the jewels hanging on his blue coat. With the music growing louder around them, he continued to guide her through the crowd swiftly. Then Mrs. Calloway began to feel a desire in her heart to keep on going without ever stopping. She thought dreamily as she smelled a clean, fresh scent coming from the nice gentleman. Maybe waltzing in a ballroom full of dancers wasn't such a strange thing after all.

Grace could barely stop dreaming when the fine man still held on to her as if she were in some sort of trance. Her heart fluttered and her eyes lightened up as she focused on keeping her steps in place. Once the music grew softer with the sound of flutes and harps playing around, her heart began to thump softly like a child's toy drum. The more she had waltzed, the more she felt entranced, mystified, and curious about the beauty of this grand ballroom. Back in the other realm, only the wealthiest citizens could ever live in a glorious mansion with a dancing floor like this. Should she even try to ask Santa Clause for something like this? No, that's impossible; and besides, she still appreciated living on a normal farm like Patch of Heaven. And who would ever hear of a waltzing cow in a ballroom? Pushing all those thoughts aside, she continued to concentrate on waltzing past the crowd of dancers swirling about. It was at this moment that Princess Maple joined for a dance through everyone she passed. Nothing else could please her more than the smiles on everyone's faces. But if there were ever a sign of sadness, it would surely break her kind heart in two.

Then Rudolph appeared between the doors to the ballroom searching for the girls. He had hated to ruin their moment of fun, but he knew that the hour was drawing near for them to see Santa in taking them home. He did however see Maggie still at the buffet table munching on a chocolate, covered, sprinkled donut. She was so busy eating that she didn't notice him walk behind to tap her on the shoulder.

"Huh, I didn't do it!" she gasped almost dropping the donut on the ground. "It was…oh it's only you Rudolph, thank goodness."

"Maybe you should save the rest for the other guests," he replied with a light chuckle. "Where are the other two?"

"Still dancing of course," Maggie answered while finishing her last bite.

Rudolph turned his attention to the dancers on the dance floor. There were the girls waltzing about here and there. And how they danced in wonder; by now the music was growing softer and softer as the dancers seemed to be slowing to almost a stop. That was when the enchanting music had ended and Grace and Mrs. Calloway looked like they were no longer lost in a dancing fantasy world. But now they were looking around in confusion and recognition. Why did it all stop?

By now everyone was watching the two cows waving, clapping and cheering for their most spectacular waltz in the ballroom.

"I think they like us Mrs. C," said Grace happily.

"Yes, but now it seems we should be going," said Mrs. Calloway just remembering what it is they were supposed to do.

"But I want to dance some more," Grace said hesitantly already growing fond of what happened recently.

"There is no more time to waste," Mrs. Calloway said sharply grabbing onto Grace's pink scarf with her tail to pull her out. "We still have to get home."

Grace turned around sadly and saw the ballroom growing smaller as she was being pulled further and further away. The guests waved goodbye as did Princess Maple with proud smiles. Even she knew that they could not stay here forever, but it was still fun to see them dance.


	10. Sweet Shop Lane

**Chapter 10: Sweet Shop Lane**

_The candy streets_

Grace had resisted being lead away from the grand ballroom and back on the road where they would be close to leaving Candy Land. Princess Maple had waved goodbye to them one last time at the front entrance before they would be on their way. Grace had enjoyed that experience too much to ever think about leaving, even if she knew that she had no other choice. There was a family back home expecting their return. And she certainly didn't want to think about what would happen if she chose to stay wanting more than what she could ever find at a normal farmhouse.

Two hours afterward, the group entered through the very last town in Candy Land, Sweet Shop Lane. The one town where the streets were lined with beautiful houses and shops that sold bonbons, cupcakes, muffins, cakes, cookies, and candy canes in boxes. Most of them could be seen from behind the windows inside. The group walked over the street being covered in an inch of white snow glittering in the brightness of the full moon. The window panes were painted in shining blue paint.

There were many gingerbread people, elves, gnomes, and dwarves walking about dressed in the finest holiday winter garments ever designed for venturing out into the snowy weather. And there were reindeer wearing collars with bells jingling softly from every step they took. Most of them looked at the cows when they realized that they were not of this realm, but then just went about their usual business. No one had spoken to them, not even to ask where they had come from. Many more shops had stood in the streets as Rudolph kept leading them through the crowd. Caramel swirled ice cream and packs of hot cocoa mix were offered for sale as well as toffees, pudding, and donuts of all sorts.

There seemed to be no other shops that didn't sell candy anywhere. Some of the reindeer walked about carrying wreaths and mistletoe in their mouths to hang on the front of doors or lampposts that burned like giant candle bras. Everyone was joyful, contended, and filled with Christmas cheer as some of the little people and reindeer gathered in the streets to go caroling or tell the best holiday stories to the little ones.

"You know Maggie," Mrs. Calloway whispered next to her. Rudolph was two feet away from them in front to notice her whispering. "Everyone here is rather nice, a little too nice to be exact."

"Well what do you expect?" Maggie whispered back to her. "Its Christmas country of course. A time for sharing and generosity."

"I'm not saying that I don't approve of Christmas, I still find it hard to believe that I am here wandering about in a land I've only heard in a storybook."

"So when was the last time you have ever believed in a fantasy?" Maggie asked with her brow furrowed.

"I was a six month old calf when I have often heard many tall tales from citizens down town. And yes, there were those of Santa Clause I listened to during the month of December. But I have never seen such a face or the ringing of sleigh bells. So after that, I stopped believing." Mrs. Calloway revealed a frown of disappointment.

"But we're here now," Maggie tried to convince her without being sarcastic. "Any moment we'll be at the North Pole to see the face of Santa Clause."

"Well, we'll see what happens."

As the two began whispering in discussion, nobody noticed Grace begin to sneak off into a back alley with a sign labeled: **_Story time and Caroling_**. This time, Grace was more interested in the stories of Christmas than she was about caroling or tasting treats. She was never really planning to step away from her friends to go out on her own, but her curiosity was still getting the better of her throughout this entire adventure.

"It all seems wonderful, but where are all the carolers and storytellers?" Grace looked around the deserted alley of houses and shops in confusion. There was not a sign of a gingerbread man, elf, gnome, dwarf, or reindeer walking about in this part of town. All the buildings were frosted with a few small icicles. And Grace and her friends were not used to wandering about in a deserted area as it made things seem spooky most of the times. "I don't like the looks of this place." Maybe wandering off on her own wasn't such a bright idea.

"All alone aren't we?" a sweet voice made Grace stop walking and slowly turns around.

"Uh…I…no not exactly," she stuttered nervously. It was an average cookie girl with curly black hair in a dark blue dress and ghastly blue eyes. She had been standing outside a shop labeled: **_Frozen Treats_**. Something else about this cookie girl made Grace quiver, but didn't understand why. "I was just wondering where all the good folks have gone. Do you know where they are?"

"Hmm, I do believe they are gathering in the very center of Pine Street for a special presentation of a Christmas play at the theatre," the girl answered with a strange sort of unpleasant smile on her face.

"Oh, that would explain all the closed up shops," Grace put her right arm over her chest and chuckled lightly. How silly of her to not even notice the CLOSED signs on the doors. "What do you sell here?"

"A little specialty I like to call frozen treats," the girl held out a small tray of what appeared to be strange, blue bonbons covered in blue frosting and blue sprinkles.

"Frozen treats?" Grace stared down in confusion at the tray of bonbons. Should she try them? "I'm afraid I don't…"

"…have any money?" the cookie girl finished without sounding angry. "That's alright, these frozen treats are free samples; meaning that you don't have to pay this time." Then she moved the tray upward to the heifer's face and smiled. "Try one while it's still **_cold_**…" Grace was taken aback by that word. "…I mean sweet, sweet I mean." Grace was still unsure of this. Then again, what harm could it do to try one at least?

"Well ok…but just one," Grace picked up one of the bonbons and shoved it inside her mouth to have a taste. Her head had perked up. The bonbon was sweeter than any other candy she had ever tasted. "Wow that is sweet. I think I'll take two more for my friends." Grace snatched two bonbons with her tail and turned to find her friends. "Thank you!"

"Drop by again anytime!" called the cookie girl as she waved her hand. With Grace sprinting off out of sight, she did not have a chance to notice the cookie girl transform into the scheming Ice Empress Crystal. "That's it my pet, take them to your friends. Little do you know that those treats will soon freeze their hearts as yours will be." In truth, Crystal had secretly stolen a box of bonbons from a shop and placed a nasty spell over them. And whenever anyone saw her, she had to freeze them and possibly the entire street side to prevent anymore watchful eyes. That is what really happened to the citizens in this part of town. They were trapped inside the buldings. It was a spell that turns a victim's heart and personality into cold, hard ice. One down, two to go!


	11. Meeting Saint Nick

**Chapter 11: Meeting Saint Nick**

_At a train station _

"Maggie, Mrs. Calloway!" Grace called out to her friends who were walking straight toward a train station that would be taking them to the North Pole. A sign overhead said **_Yuletide Express_**, _twelve o'clock_. "You've got to try these; they're the best treats ever."

"There you are Grace," Mrs. Calloway spoke sternly without raising her voice. "Where have you been?" Then she noticed that Grace was hiding something at the tip of her tail. "And what's that you're holding in your tail?"

"A cookie girl offered me free samples of frozen treats," Grace showed them the two treats after uncurling her tail. "I saved two for each of you."

"So you went off on your own in search of more sweets?" Mrs. Calloway furrowed her brow, and then looked back down on the two bonbons. "I don't approve of candy; although I must say that those treats do look satisfying."

"If Grace says they're the best, why not try one?" Maggie insisted taking one from Grace and popping into her mouth. She chewed and chewed until there was nothing more. She was rather impressed with the sweetness. "You're right, these are rather good. Go on Mrs. C, we're about to leave Candy Land."

"Alright, but I still say they're unhealthy for us," Mrs. Calloway took the last bonbon and was about to eat it when she paused a moment before it entered all the way through her mouth. For some other reason, this was the strangest bonbon she had ever laid eyes on. The other two watched her place it under her hat. "I'll eat it when we get on the train."

Maggie and Grace looked at each other all puzzled and just shrugged their shoulders. It was just a simple blue bonbon, or so they thought.

"ALL ABOARD!" A whistle sounded.

Without asking, they just hopped on the train a few minutes after it arrived at the station. They leaned out the window to have one last look at Sweet Shop Lane; the last town in all of Candy Land. With the train gathering enough speed, the girls watched the citizens' wave and disappear as it rounded the corner with houses, trees, and snow mounds flashing past the window. Grace could feel a great leap of excitement run through her. She had no idea what else lies beyond the North Pole, but hopefully it would become much more enchanting than Candy Land.

"Eh," Grace grunted, clutching her stomach a moment before sitting on one of the cushioned seats in the compartment.

"What's wrong with you Grace, another stomachache?" Maggie asked, with a puzzled expression.

"No, just a small cramp that's all," said Grace said weakly. She glanced out the window and tried to pretend that it didn't happen. Deep down, she guessed that it might have been that frozen treat she nibbled on. But if that is what caused her tiny cramp, then it might have taken an entire mouthful to create a painful stomachache. It would go away recently.

"Alright I'll have a taste of that treat you gave me," said Mrs. Calloway, taking the bonbon out from under her hat. Despite its rather strange appearance, she shoved it inside and took a liking to its sweet flavor. "Hmm, sweet yet full of sugary fats."

* * *

_Train ride_

While the cows had been in the compartment looking out the window, the train had carried them out of Candy Land and through the Arctic regions. Now they were speeding past snowy mountains and ice bergs inhabited by polar bears, harp seals, Arctic foxes, snow hares, snow owls, and white wolves. The seals, foxes, hare, and owls seemed friendly enough for the cows to meet, yet the bears and wolves made them feel a bit edgy since they knew that carnivorous predators were too much for them to handle. That was only because they were wild and the cows were domestic.

"How cold is it outside?" Grace asked Rudolph, still staring outside.

"Well the Arctic temperatures are colder than you can ever imagine; at least down to -154 degrees Fahrenheit," Rudolph advised. The cows were shocked. None of them could possibly survive out in a region with extremely low temperatures like that. "But if you're a warm blooded animal, then the snow won't do that much harm to you."

"Are there any eskimos out there?" Maggie asked curiously. "I don't see any igloos."

"Don't be silly Maggie; eskimos live only in Alaska and we are still on our way to see Santa Clause at the North Pole," Mrs. Calloway corrected. "So I suggest that from now on, we stay together without any delays." Everyone was now quiet throughout the trip, watching the snowy mountains, forests, and other train stations flick past. Their destination to the North Pole was nonstop.

When it was now half past one, Grace had been growing tired of watching the snowy regions outside and insisted to the others that a song was what they needed to lighten up their spirits. She rose up from the seat and blurted. "Why don't I sing a song while we're still riding on this train?"

"Oh no, no we don't need anymore…" Maggie objected as she shook her head, but Grace sang anyway.

"DECK THE HALLS WITH BOUGHS OF HOLLY, FA, LA, LA, LA, LA, LA, LA, LA, LA. TIS THE SEASON TO BE JOLLY…!" as Grace went on singing, Maggie and Mrs. Calloway turned to the right side pulling down on their ears in irritation. Not wanting to hear anymore, Maggie started scratching underneath her chin to try and think of a way to put a stop to it without making Grace feel bad.

Then her ears perked up as an idea came crawling into her head: Maybe she could convince Grace into thinking that the Ice Empress may have stumbled upon the Yuletide Express and that her singing might attract her attention over to them. Should she say it to Grace? It may sound dishonest of her to say such a thing, but she had never been one to mince words.

"You know Grace…" She began, "…if you keep this up, then…" unexpectedly her voice was cut off from the cracking of an intercom before she had a chance to say anything.

"ATTENTION ALL PASSENGERS, THIS IS THE CONDUCTOR SPEAKING. WHOEVER IT IS THAT IS HOLLERING IN ONE OF THE COMPARTMENTS, PLEASE SIT DOWN AND BE SILENT! THAT IS ALL." The intercom turned off.

Grace ceased singing and recognized who the conductor might have been talking about. She sat back down the seat with a sullen look on her face and crossed her legs. After that, she sang no more.

"Boy there must have been some complaints from every passenger on this train ride," Maggie thought heaving a sigh of relief. "I don't blame them for that; and now I won't have to fib."

* * *

_Thirty minutes later_

Although the afternoon was still passing slowly, the sky seemed to be growing dark as the cows peeked outside the window. But they didn't mind seeing that, especially Grace who was still sullen from being denied the right to sing.

"MAY I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE!" a voice spoke from the intercom. "WE WILL BE REACHING THE NORTH POLE IN FIVE MINUTES. PLEASE REMAIN SEATED UNTIL THE TRAIN HAS COME TO A COMPLETE STOP."

Grace peered out of the window in excitement. She had forgotten about being sullen and could see a sign about a mile away from where they're heading. The closer the train zoomed, the bigger the sign became clear to read: **Welcome to the North Pole** in painted gold letters, decorated with holly and two fake presents below.

The young heifer's stomach lurched with nerves from remembering what Maggie said about Santa keeping a list of all those who have been naughty or nice. So far, they have been good. Surely not perfect, but still good. And Grace already remembered what she and Maggie have done in Candy Land. Maggie got drunk off of Lemonade and Grace wandered off on her own into the candy garden before being chased away by Chuck, the angry moose. And Mrs. Calloway was only being strict in trying to protect them from going overboard with the sweets. Like most families, rules and orders were sometimes made to keep members in a straight line.

Grace peered out the window again to see an entire neighborhood of houses with snow covering the roofs. The sides were decorated with colored lights.

"Maggie, Mrs. Calloway, look outside!" Grace hollered, jumping for joy. The two moved closer to see what got her worked up. "It's the North Pole!"

"Indeed it is," Mrs. Calloway sounded quite impressed with what her eyes had set upon. "I wonder how many toys they keep in the workshop."

"Well you seem quite interested in this place than you did before," Maggie said with a friendly smirk on her face.

"I was just feeling reluctant to continue because of that ice woman following our trail," the proper cow contradicted. "You know, with her insisting that we be her servants."

"That's nothing to worry about now," assured Maggie, putting a hoof on her shoulder. "We still have Rudolph here to protect us at all costs."

"I just hope you're right," Mrs. Calloway whispered with her gaze out the window.

The train had finally slowed down to a stop. The cows could hear passengers pushing their way to the door to get off. With that many, it might be wise for them to wait until everyone was out. After a while, the rumbling of footsteps decreased.

"Its ok ladies, they're gone now," Rudolph smiled and opened the compartment door. "Watch your step while you get off."

As the cows followed Rudolph off the train, they saw more of the houses with lights and a couple of elves passing by carrying gifts or decorations from one house to another.

"Welcome to the North Pole!" one female elf with blond hair wearing a green dress said in unison. The cows kept blinking and rubbing their eyes to make sure they were still awake and not dreaming. So far, the houses were there still. The elves were definitely welcoming, despite their short size. The cows looked at each other in surprise.

"They must not get many outside visitors in this place," said Maggie, straitening her green scarf.

"Come on, follow me ladies!" called Rudolph, standing a few feet away from where they were.

The red-nosed reindeer lead the girls through the passing elves. Whenever one of them accidentally bumped in, the words were "excuse me" or "beg your pardon." Mrs. Calloway had to admit that she was rather impressed with their kind manners and from not hearing a single crude remark which she was never truly fond of. Then again, who else would be?

The group stopped before a lowly steep hill which leads down to an old log cabin with welcoming lights inside and a lazy plume of smoke rising out of the chimney at the bottom. From this point, the girls figured that the cabin must have been the house of Santa Clause. Small, yet somehow dazzling.

"Right this WAAAAYYY!!" The girls watched as Rudolph slid all the way down the slope. He slid until he landed close to the cabin door.

"WAIT FOR MMMEEEE!!" Grace whizzed down trying to mimic his move. Soon she was standing with Rudolph. Soon Mrs. Calloway came flying by to insist that they now move along. "But why don't we wait for…"

"LOOK OUT BELOW!" Grace never finished when Maggie shouted a warning to the group a little too late before crashing into them all the way zooming past the cabin door and the hallways inside. They didn't stop sliding until they landed in front of an large oak door.

"Oof!" Grace grunted after feeling either Maggie or Mrs. Calloway lean against her from the hard landing.

"Get your foot off my face!" Mrs. Calloway demanded, pushing Maggie off her back when she had tried to get back up.

"I'm not on your face!" replied Maggie annoyed.

"Let me up, I can't move!" cried Grace.

"Alright let's try to focus here," said Rudolph, still stuck under one of the girls. It was enough to prevent the cows from almost breaking into an endless struggle. "Starting one at a time, each one of us shall rise without hesitation. One, two, three…"

Finally pulling themselves apart, the group dusted the snow off their hides and turned their attention to the oak door in front of them. Rudolph knocked and the door flew wide open to reveal a sort of big, spacious family room with a warm, fanciful fireplace. The fire burned with a warm glow filling the room. The cows thought that they saw someone resting against a comfortable leather chair reading a few papers.

"Ho, ho, ho, I see you've made it to my cabin just in the nick of time," the person laughed in a loud jolly voice, but didn't turn around. "I can hardly remember the last time I ever saw a mortal enter my workshop. Normally I prefer to go about my business without being disturbed."

The cows moved closer slowly to have a better look of whoever was sitting in the chair and stepped back in shock when they noticed a familiar face of a recent arch nemesis.

"It's Alameda Slim, get him!"


	12. Adventures in Toyland

**Chapter 12: Adventures in Toyland**

Without thinking, the cows sprinted on the man, knocking him out of his chair and wrestling him onto the floor.

"I got him!"

"No I got him!"

"Don't let him get away!"

Then Maggie began to pull firmly on the beard, believing that it might have been a fake. She pulled repeatedly, but the man would often grunt from the force.

"Why won't this beard come off?"

"LADIES!"

The girls stopped wrestling the man whom they believed was Alameda Slim and turned to see Rudolph behind them frowning. They had never expected him to ever raise his voice in any other way.

"What do you think you're doing attacking Santa Clause like that? Is this how you show respect to someone welcoming you into their home?" said Rudolph. His voice was calm but his expression seemed stern. "I can't believe you."

The cows took one look at the so-called Slim again and finally realized what a shameful mistake they had made in lunging out at him; especially since the beard stuck to his chin. Moving slowly off of him, the girls stared down on the floor in shame as the man dusted himself off. They had waited for him to yell at the top of his lungs, but instead heard him bellow out a laugh.

"Ho, ho, ho, I never thought I'd see the day when three heroic cows would be standing here in my cabin."

The cows raised their heads up in bewilderment. Santa Clause appeared to look a little similar to Slim. With the same round belly, same fat arms, legs, eyes, face, and the same beard and mustache with the exception of it being white. The beard was foamy like a waterfall covering his neck. He was a huge jolly man wearing the exact same red suit, black boots, belt buckle, square spectacles, and a red hat with soft white fur trim. He didn't sound the least bit upset about what just happened recently and already knew surely well who they thought he was.

"What, how did you about us?" asked Mrs. Calloway still puzzled. It was to find out if he really was who she thought that she would never see.

"Why I'm Santa Clause of course; I see everything that goes on in the mortal world. And I'm also pleased to see that Rudolph was kind enough to lead you all through Candy Land instead of allowing you to travel by yourselves. Ester told me everything that happened; now he's out in the stables helping the reindeer be prepared for tonight's sleigh ride."

"We're awfully sorry, we thought…" Grace wanted to apologize for what she and her friends did, but Santa held up his hand.

"I know very well you thought I was young one," he said with the same smile. "Normally when I see people go about hurting others through their own selfish deeds that is what makes me sad as well. But when you all put your heads together, teamwork is what makes a great accomplishment towards completing a mission. And despite all your past errors, you've all been good this year and deserve to spend a wonderful Christmas back home with your family."

"Does that mean you'll be able to take us home?" Mrs. Calloway just remembered what it is they were to do once arriving here.

"Sure, that won't be a problem. But I'm afraid it will have to wait till tonight since there are still a few wish-lists to go through."

"Oh, so that's what you were reading in your hand," Maggie predicted.

"Indeed," Santa replied as he walked back to sit on his seat. "These are letters sent in from children all over the world. With every name, I keep a list of all those who have been naughty or nice. And when every list is complete, they are to be checked twice before I decide who deserves to receive a special Christmas gift."

The cows gathered around Santa for him to show an example of each child's wish-list. One was from a boy who desired a toy train, another wished for a china doll, and there was one letter from a another little boy asking for Santa to give a new teddy bear for his brother and a new pair of pants for his dad. Although most of the lists required for Santa to bring toys, there were also quite a few other letters that were asking for nothing more than to be with their families and friends on Christmas Day. To these folks, love and friendship were the greatest gifts of all.

"Wow, I never realized how many…selfless folks would be asking such…favors for those who need help the most," Maggie stammered in trying to keep herself from uttering a sweet sob.

"Yes," agreed Mrs. Calloway placing her right hoof under her snout to keep herself from doing the same thing Maggie might have been capable of doing. "Such a pleasure that they don't think only about themselves."

"That is beautiful," Grace had already been sniffling from what she read. Who would have thought there is more kindred spirits out in the world with a gift that comes from the heart of love? Not even the most difficult of times ever changed them.

"All three of you are selfless do-gooders who care about those close to you," Santa assured them, setting the papers on the small table next to his chair. "Even though some of you had a few follies with one another…" Maggie and Mrs. Calloway glared at each other for a moment then back to him. They wondered if he might have been talking about their first meeting on the farm. "…you've all managed to pull yourselves together through facing many unusual dangers. But don't worry; all good folks have their ups and downs from time to time. That is life for everyone." The cows glared up at him with smiles and he returned the same thing.

"Wait a minute, that reminds me," Mrs. Calloway remembered another thing after Santa had mentioned the word dangers. "There has been this ice woman on our trail trying to turn us into her servants."

"Yeah, and she almost turned Grace into a block of ice," Maggie added. "But Rudolph put a stop to it, so she won't come back. Won't she?" She turned to Rudolph who was standing by the fireplace.

"Well for now, but it's possible that she might be back again anytime," Rudolph responded with a worried expression.

"Crystal?" Santa guessed surprisingly. "So it seems she's at it again."

"At what again?" asked Grace curiously.

"Crystal is an Ice Empress that lives on Stone Cold Mountain. From there it is her duty to create snowstorms in the northern part of the world every winter season. Because everything about her is made out of ice, including her heart, she had once tried to transform this workshop into a frozen wasteland; almost ruining Christmas for everyone in the mortal realm. But at that time, she was unaware that fire and bright lights was the key to weakening her ice powers. Upon stepping foot in the fireplace, she fled and we haven't seen her since."

That left the cows thinking for a while. Is it possible that Crystal might be too fearful of the fireplaces and decoration lights to even think about stepping foot in the North Pole to claim the three cows? And would they still get home even with her on the loose?

"I will take you back home tonight. But until then, would any of you mind helping me in the workshop?" Santa, not wanting to leave the three of them worrying about Crystal believed that Christmas cheer is what they still needed to feel. And whatever the Ice Empress was plotting to do with them, he knew he had to make sure that they stay inside where it was warm; while he delivered an urgent message to the grand elf requesting that he keep a close eye on things.

"Really?" the cows said altogether at the same time. Santa Clause, the head elf of Christmas was asking three heroic dairy cows to help him in his workshop.

"We'd love to help Santa," Grace replied joyfully. "What kind of help do you need?"

* * *

_In Santa's workshop_

"Little Bobby wants a small rocking horse," Mrs. Calloway read off every person's wish list while Maggie picked out the best type of toy from the pile on the table. It wasn't too complicated with trying to find a toy as Rudolph was an expert with giving a helping hand. Whenever Maggie had trouble finding something, Rudolph would be able to point it out and sometimes pass it to her.

"I think this one will do," Maggie said cheerfully, staring at a miniature rocking horse painted like a carousel horse. She passed it to Grace whose job was to place each toy in a beautiful gift box and place the lid on top tightly to throw down a chute where all the other gifts go to be placed in Santa's sack. Not a single elf could be found wandering around in the workshop at this moment since Santa mentioned that the elves usually help Mrs. Clause out in the kitchen with baking cookies after finishing with the toys.

When the box stack grew lower to three, Grace volunteered to go fetch another bag in the storage room where boxes never run low. In other words, they just keep on piling. Rudolph pointed that the room was down the hall and to the right. All she had to do was go straight until she reached the end.

"Hmm, go straight until you reach the end," she reminded herself as she eyed every room with different labels above the doors. "There sure are a lot of doors here." Grace continued moving past doors with signs either labeled _vapor room_, _mail room_, _china dolls_, _cookie jars_, _boots_,_ work suits_, _ornaments_, or _reindeer hay_. The hallway was starting to feel rather endless, but Grace was more satisfied than troubled as she still kept on walking forward.

"Ugh!" Grace felt the same jolt of pain from when she and her friends boarded the train. She dropped on the ground and clutched her stomach. Not only was it hurting, but somehow a different wave of emotions was tearing into her mind. Feelings of disgust, nastiness, and selfishness seeped through. Then she threw her hooves over her head as if she were suffering from a major headache. For a few moments, she moaned in pain. After a while, it had vanished. She was feeling like herself again.

"Huh, what just happened to me?" she said breathlessly. Slowly removing her hooves, she rose up and started moving down the hall again. The spell placed on that bonbon was starting to take effect on her and Grace still did not know about it. Grace didn't stop until she noticed a sparkling trail of shimmering little people with butterfly wings carrying red bags from one nameless room to another labeled _pixie dust_. They must have been fairies, not elves. She had never seen one before in her life. Naturally she would have loved to stop and say "hello" except right now she felt that the others were expecting her back anytime now. To her surprise, the fairies paid no attention to her as she passed below them. Grace didn't mind though; there was one thing in this hallway she still had to do without having anymore time to waste. She began to sing a Christmas song.

That was when one fairy paused after a brief moment of glaring sourly at Grace walking down the long hallway. What was she doing here and how did she get such a wretched voice?

"Oof!" she felt a fairy bump into her unexpectedly after another and another. The force was so intense that it caused her to release the red bag as it hovered in the air and shower the pixie dust all over Grace.

"Oh what fun it is to ride in a…" Grace sang hoarsely but was unable to feel the dust despite hearing a few shimmers. She imagined that those were sleigh bells jingling to the tune of the song she still sang. Grace did not notice anything unusual until she had finished singing.

"This is new!" she said as she looked around find the doors and walls at an extremely high altitude; even higher than the average rocky canyons. "Did I take a wrong turn or something?"

The pixie dust that had showered over her was the kind that would shrink a person or object into the size of a small toy fit for a dollhouse. She kept pacing around in circles wondering where she was or if she went the wrong way.

"Hey you there!" a small high-pitched voice called out to Grace from above. "Are you alright?" It was the same fairy who took notice of her. She had long brown hair, green eyes, and a pink flowery dress.

"How did you get so big?" Grace asked to make sure she wasn't just hallucinating.

"I haven't gotten big!" the fairy shrieked in a panicked tone. "You have shrunk to the size of a toy by a shower of pixie dust!"

"What?" Grace gasped from having to hear this. "I've shrunk; how did it happen?"

"It was my entire fault," the fairy replied with guilt. "I accidentally threw a bag of it over you while you were walking. But if you come with us, we'll change you back to normal size with another type of dust."

"You can do that?" Grace asked almost feeling relieved. Throughout this magical adventure, she was still smart enough to already know that things in this realm are not always what they appear to be. And there was someone here to lend her a helping hand.

"I will help if you let me and my friends carry you to the pixie dust room," she replied with a smile as three more fairies zoomed by fluttering above.

Grace could not blame the sweet innocent fairy for what happened since she knew it was an accident. There was simply no use complaining over something she couldn't change, even in this realm. And she was not the type to hold a grudge. Nodding her head in response, she began to walk closer to them but failed to notice a hole below the wooden floor where she had slipped through. Screaming in a panic, Grace flailed her legs wildly as she watched herself plunge into a bottomless space.

"Hold on!" the first fairy that had spoken to her cried out. She dove into the hole afterward to try and save her from falling. The other fairies followed her.

"AAAAAHHHHH…UGH!!" Grace ceased screaming when she felt a yank on her tail which slowed her fall slightly.

"I got you!" the brown-faired fairy cried out. But even if she did hold on to Grace, the dairy cow turned out to be nearly heavier than a teabag filled with too much powder. With that much weight, they were both falling.

The other three fairies dove below Grace to slow down her fall by pushing her upward. It worked but she was still too heavy to push all the way up. So far, they could only succeed in hovering her above in midair. Everyone found that they had entered the kitchen filled with a scent of sugared cookies.

"Are we in the kitchen?" asked Grace as the fairies carried her over a few silver tin counters with bowls of baking dough were placed on top. There were a few elves wearing aprons and hats mixing the dough with a wooden spatula. An elderly woman with short grey hair wearing a long red dress with a white apron was walking around making sure everything was in perfect order. Grace figured that she would be Mrs. Clause.

"This is the kitchen where all the best Christmas treats are baked according to Mrs. Clause's own special recipes," a curly blond fairy in a green petal dress replied softly.

"Every treat is prepared for the elves and the reindeer," added a fairy in a blue petal dress and red wavy hair.

The sweet scent of Christmas cookies filled the air all around them. It was so tempting that Grace could feel her mouth water with a desire for a taste of those cookies. Yet doing so right now would be impossible since she was still small.

"But I don't think we should be here," advised the brown-haired fairy. "We've got to move her out of here before someone sees us."

Evidently, an elf passed by them as he walked through a different room. To their relief, he never even noticed them fluttering about as the entire day had been rather busy. The fairies entered through the door before it closed.

* * *

_In the toy room_

"This is where the elves test each toy to determine whether they're safe or need to be improved," the red-haired fairy pointed her head toward a few porcelain dolls, moving trains, marching soldiers, and horses on wheels.

"Every child should learn to play safe at all times," added the blond-haired fairy.

Grace was starting to feel a little edgy from floating up higher than she can ever imagine. But if she were to struggle from slipping, the fairies would surely drop her and might possibly blame themselves for her death. And if she panicked or demanded to be dropped off, the fairies might think of her as nothing more than a selfish crybaby. So if she was going to make it through this, she would have to be patient and try not to look down.

"Huh!" Grace gasped the moment when a scary-looking jack-in-the-box that made a shrieking cackle popped out. The blond heifer couldn't help herself from shivering with fright at the sight of that clown toy. This time the fairies were having trouble attempting to calm her down. With their arms growing tired, Grace finally slipped from their grasp and had fallen once again. She closed her eyes and waited for the end.

BOING! Grace opened her eyes to find that she had luckily landed on a big rubber ball and bounced. When she plunged back down, she landed a wooden horse with wheels, went rolling toward a few train tracks, swooshed through a great tunnel, then when the horse on wheels hit the end of the track, Grace flew off the horse and into a medium-sized parachute basket.

"Somebody please help me, I'm stuck!" she cried as the parachute swept her over toward a table with a spectacular, well-made toy train set. Was this parachute safe for a small child to play with? Maybe it was, but not for someone her size. However, the parachute floated her safely to the model set.

"Wow, look at the size of this station!" Grace gazed in wonder at the sight of the fantastic designed area all around her. From a mile away, she thought that she saw the train enter a small tunnel leading to some unknown area. The tracks were made of real iron; there was a water tank close to the station, trees, mountains, canyons, towns, and native villages seemed almost like the real thing back at home. Surely if this were real, it may seem rich, pleasant, and even more adventurous. The only unreal things on this set were the fake cowboys, conductors, mine diggers, Indian warriors, and all the other townspeople. Every folk was designed from plastic.

Pushing the parachute off her body, Grace rose up and made a few slow turns like a barrel being rolled over on the side. She wanted to know which part of the set she was on before thinking about where she would head next. Grace discovered that she was surrounded in a grassland area of wooden cabins stacked with fake tool supplies and plastic townspeople all over the place.

"Maybe if I climb up to the mountains, I can attract the fairies' attention so that they'll know where to find me," Grace said to herself hopefully.

The sweet dairy cow began to tread through the town of cabins to head straight where she had set her eyes on the tallest hill on the set. But when she took her first step, she didn't notice that the strings attached to the parachute from which she floated from had somehow entangled all four of her ankles. She figured it must have happened when she was struggling to find her way out from under there and couldn't even feel it. Because of this, Grace was now having trouble keeping her balance teetering as if she were trapped in a windstorm.

"Whoa, whoa, WHOA!!" Grace shrieked the moment when her front left foot stumbled on a tiny pebble flayed across the ground. She fell backwards and started tumbling over a hill close by from where she had landed. There she went rolling, rolling, and rolling all the way down to the tracks with the strings still entangling her feet.

"Oof!" Grace cried when her chin hit the iron tracks. Miraculously, no bone in her body was broken and she received no scratches anywhere else. But now all four of her ankles had been bound together and worse yet, she was lying on the train tracks. Grace couldn't rise up or move out of the way because of the ropes also being caught somewhere within the tracks.

"Help someone; I'm stuck on the tracks!" Grace hollered as loud as she could. A small glimpse of hope filled her heart when she heard a shimmer from somewhere above.

TOOT, TOOT! The sounds of the toy train could be heard coming closer.


	13. The Star is Stolen

**Chapter 13: The Star is Stolen**

Panic stricken, Grace struggled to free her ankles from the thin string but still couldn't move an inch. Right now, she could see a thick cloud of steam rising out of the engine with the whistle still blowing. Her heart skipped a beat as Grace imagined the train zooming toward her at a maximum high speed. But before the whistle grew closer, Grace felt herself being pushed off into the air once again and watched as the toy train continued speeding along the iron tracks. The fairies spotted her just in time to remove the strings from her ankles and lift her out of the trains' path.

"Are you alright?" asked the blond fairy.

"I think so," replied Grace rubbing her sore ankles from the tight bond.

"Listen closely now," began the red haired fairy in a serious tone. "The important thing to do when one is lost is to stay where you are until someone finds you. And please hold still while we're carrying you. That is what caused this fault." These words she spoke of were for her own protection; not to be harsh.

"I promise I will not panic anymore," Grace acquiesced. She still trusted the fairies to keep her safe while finding a way back upstairs. "But where does that train go?" She was still curious about where the tracks lead.

"Those tracks lead to all the other rooms of Santa's workshop," responded the red haired fairy. "It will never run out of steam; and I wouldn't think about riding in it or standing in its path."

Grace asked no more questions as the fairies hoisted her into the air and carried her over the train set to head for the next door.

* * *

_The stairway_

"There it is!" shouted the blond fairy in rejoice. "We've found the stairway!" The fairies entered a tiny empty room with spiraled stairs leading up through a hole. Normally, this is where all the elves would exit once finished with whatever work was needed to be done. Grace of course had many other misadventures with the fairies in Toyland such as finding her way in a big doll house, dancing along with figures in a room full of music boxes, or sliding down a toy chute. It took the fairies several minutes to locate her in a realistic plastic toy barn of farm animals; now they were relived to have found the stairs because of their arms feeling tired out from carrying Grace so long.

"Once we enter that hole up there," the brown haired fairy promised Grace. "We'll be able to change you back to normal size."

"I'm glad that I had an adventure throughout Toyland," Grace said out loud cheerfully. "But now I have to get back to my friends. They'll wonder where I am."

"Remember, don't wiggle." The fairies concentrated on moving the shrunken dairy cow up through the hole in the ceiling. This hole had been a little lower than the one from where Grace had fallen through. Though she was still heavy, the fairies kept their concentration on the ceiling hole.

* * *

_Back in the hallway_

"There you are!" a fairy with wavy silver hair had spotted the four fairies coming toward her carrying what appeared to be the smallest dairy cow she had ever laid eyes on. "What happened to her…?"

"No time to explain," the blond fairy interrupted hesitantly. "We have to find the dust that will change her back to normal size."

"Alright, come this way," the fairies followed her all the way down the hall until they reached the pixie dust room where the red bags were organized on many shelves.

"Now where is it? I know I put it here someplace." The silver haired fairy rambled as she was sorting through the red bags with many types of odd names. Right now she had been searching for one that would be tagged _growing dust_. "Aha, here we are!" she shouted as she pulled out a medium sized red bag tied with gold lace. "Place the cow down on the floor."

The fairies obeyed her command as Grace was landed safely on the wooden floor allowing the silver haired fairy to sprinkle the dust over her like fine powdery snow. She had to make sure not to spill the entire bag; otherwise Grace might have grown into a giant dairy cow rampaging out of the workshop. Before Grace knew it, she found her head halfway up to the shelf of magic bags. In other words, she was back to normal size.

"Oh dear, I still have to get to the storage room," Grace had nearly forgotten about volunteering to go fetch boxes and rushed out.

The fairies couldn't believe it. After all that, the cow just ran off without even looking back in their direction. Was she only using them so she could just have an adventure in the toy factory? What a complete disgrace she turned out to be.

"Um, thank you for helping me back to normal size," Grace appeared again at the entrance of the pixie dust room when she had forgotten to thank them. "Sorry if I've caused you any trouble."

"No trouble at all, now run along and do your job," the silver haired fairy assured her that all was well by shooing her. Grace ran off down the hall.

The fairies had proud smiles on their faces. How ungrateful of them to think of that sweet cow as a selfish good-for-nothing when she had done nothing to hurt them in the first place. None of them knew of the spell or the plot Crystal had against the cows and it might have been possible that Grace might have been affected again a moment after she had returned to normal size.

"Remember, go straight until you reach the end, and then turn left," Grace said to herself when she walked faster than before. This time, it didn't take to long for her to find the room with all the endless boxes piling up. Pushing a cart out with her head forcefully, she noticed another particular door that had a looking glass with mistletoe nailed at the top at the end of the left hall.

Her curiosity returned to her when she gazed in wonder at the beautifully made mistletoe tied in a small silk ribbon. She had forgotten about the stack of boxes and walked slowly to the door. But even if she wanted to peek in, she felt certain that the door would be locked securely. Grace took a deep breath and pushed the door open. A brilliant light came flooding out when she had done so.

Inside was a wondrous grand room like the dance floor back at the Gingerbread Kingdom, except that this one was more spirited and imaginative with a long dining table with chairs in each row, a wooly read carpet, and a shelf full of books against the wall. But the most beautiful sight to gaze upon was an enormous Christmas tree, decorated in colorful twinkling lights, glass balls, lighted candles, sugarplums, candy canes, and gold apples that glittered like the sun. Presents of different shapes and sizes laid under the tree wrapped in shining paper and bows. Of course, Grace wasn't that interested in the presents because she was now gazing in wonder at the most beautiful star that stood at the treetop lighting up like a real star in the nighttime sky. The young heifer's eyes sparkled with delight as if she were enchanted by another fairy spell. Filled with excitement, Grace felt like she was on the brink of entering the heavenly skies whilst flying to catch up with the light. Like Maggie, she was becoming lost in a dreamy state. Now this was one dream she would never want to wake up from.

"So there you are young one," a jolly old voice gave Grace such a start of surprise that she uttered a small shriek and turned to see that it was Santa standing in the doorway with Rudolph, Maggie, and Mrs. Calloway.

"Oh, oh…I was just…trying to…to…find a few…" Grace was at a loss for words from being discovered in a room she was not meant to be sneaking around in. "what I meant to say is that…that…"

"I see that you've managed to step foot in the grandest family room with our special Christmas tree," Santa said quite pleased instead of outraged. "This is where I, Mrs. Clause and all the other fairies, elves, and gnomes gather to celebrate our success every year from making each Christmas more special."

"I wish I would never leave this room," Maggie said dreamily as she moved to have a better look at the beautiful tree with the star. "And I have never seen a star that bright or sparkling."

"But how is that star made?" Mrs. Calloway asked. "It doesn't look much like any ordinary decoration I've ever witnessed."

"That's because this star is lit by Christmas spirit and not by a candle or light," responded Santa as he and Rudolph moved further to the tree to explain how it is done. "You see, every mortal's Christmas wish is like a star twinkling in the sky; a star that is filled hope, generosity, and having something to believe in, even through the toughest times of their lives. And that is what lights up this star, magic from the heart."

The cows kept their attention to the star up on top while Santa went on explaining how a mortal keeps their faith alive all year around and how nobody has to be perfect just to be a good family member. Nobody was ever perfect. The cows' belief in Christmas and Santa made the star turn brighter. When they arrive home, no one will ever believe where they have been.

"How are we to explain this to the family back at home?" asked Maggie, still glaring at the treetop.

"We'll tell them we were stranded in a snowstorm but found our way back with a little luck," replied Mrs. Calloway as she, Maggie, Rudolph, and Santa walked out the door. "Then we'll explain all this through a simple Christmas story. They'll all love that."

Grace decided to stay behind in the room to stare at the wondrous tree for a little while longer, but Santa didn't mind that believing that she and the girls would be safe inside his workshop. And eventually, she would be out again with them. Grace still stood in awe stunned by the stars never-ending glow all because of Christmas spirit.

Unbeknownst to Grace however, this magical moment was soon to be crumbled by the intrusion of a pitiless ice lady. While the dairy cow was admiring the tree, she didn't notice the great shadow form closer behind her.

WHAM! The doors slammed like thunder. Startled, Grace spun around and gasped in horror upon setting her eyes on Crystal with black spectacles over her eyes standing at the doorway which was frozen shut. Grace backed against the tree trembling. How did she get in here and where did she get those black spectacles? She thought, still trembling.

"How did you get in here?" she asked in surprise. Her eyes widened when she noticed that Crystal was hiding something behind her back, but couldn't view what it was. She smiled maliciously as she approached the shivering bovine backing away from her.

"Do you obviously think I'd give up too soon?" the Ice Empress spoke in a cold, sharp tone as she leaned over Grace menacingly. Grace was unable to see the woman's eyes from behind those black spectacles, but imagined what horrible expression they formed into as she spoke. "I can transform into a speck of dust to reach difficult areas without being caught. I haven't come all this way just for you three of course."

"What else do you desire?" Grace asked weakly.

"The star of course," Crystal turned her attention to the star up on top and shifted upward to swipe it with her icy cold hands. The tree shook from her touch.

"Wait a minute, put that back!" Grace shouted angrily. "That star is the symbol of Christmas cheer and you can't have it!"

"Can't I?" Crystal turned back to Grace again with the same wicked smile. Even from behind those dark spectacles, she knew that the ice lady had not forgotten about her. She watched the bovine run to the frozen door kicking at it, but it wouldn't budge.

"Help me, Crystal is in here!" Grace cried out fearfully.

From behind her back, Crystal held three long tight cords of red lace and with her telekinetic powers; the cords slithered on the floor like snakes to throw themselves at Grace, wrapping around her legs and mouth tightly until she fell over and was unable to struggle any further. With the Christmas star held high in her right hand, Crystal crouched down toward Grace to check the tightness of the cords. Once sure that the bovine was bound so tightly that she couldn't kick or scream, Crystal straightened and tightened the cord around the bovine's mouth to not take any chances of her being able to call for help; then without a word, Grace could feel herself being pulled off by the floor and hanging over Crystal's left shoulder. Who would have thought this ice woman possessed other powers besides trapping those in blocks of ice.

From behind the woman's shoulder, Grace saw a piece of paper and a pen pop out of a drawer from the bottom of the bookshelf and land softly on the dining table allowing the pen to write something down over the blank paper. But she was unable to view what words had been written because of her being carried further away to another door. She could even feel her earmuffs slip off from her ears and land next to the note. The cords wouldn't budge a bit whenever she struggled.

"Now, now, there is no need to worry about ever seeing your friends again my pet," Crystal hissed in a mocking tone. "Once they read that letter, they'll have to come to me and accept my offer." With a sinister jeer, the back doors flew open letting cold air blow inside.

That was when Grace realized that the pen was writing down a ransom note telling the others that she is being held captive at Crystal's lair and demanding that if she is ever to be seen alive again, then the other two will have to show up without the hope of ever standing a chance against her powers.

"Lucky for me, I had to wear these protective eyeglasses I stole from the elves department to prevent my eyes from going blind," Grace heard Crystal utter menacingly as she was now out the door and disappeared into the bitter cold.


	14. The Penalty of Disobedience

**Chapter 14: The Penalty of Disobedience**

"I say, what's going on in there?" Santa began pounding on the door a few moments after he heard Grace call for immediate help. But what really concerned him was that her cry made her sound more like she was in danger. "Will you not open this door?"

"Grace, open up at once!" Mrs. Calloway shouted pushing against the door. "This is no time for silly games."

"Santa, why don't you leave this door to us?" Maggie prompted. "We know how to handle it." She and Mrs. Calloway walked to the edge of the hallway to prepare and break down the doors. Santa and Rudolph moved out of the way as soon as the two began their charge from the hall and straight toward the frozen door with enough force to knock out a wagon of supplies.

BOOM! The girls succeeded in opening the doors only to find the back door left open with the chilled wind seeping in. Grace was no where in sight.

"Huh, did she go outside or what?" Maggie asked in puzzlement when her eyes caught sight of the door pushed from the wind. "Somebody shut the door!" she rubbed her front legs to warm them up.

Just as Rudolph was heading there, he noticed some purple earmuffs lying next to a note written in black ink. The words had shocked him.

"Santa the star is gone, and there's a note on this table!" he cried.

"Bring it here Rudolph," ordered Santa. The reindeer picked it up in his mouth and handed it over to Santa. On the paper, he read:

_**Dear Mr. Clause,**_

_**If you are wondering where the beautiful blond bovine might have disappeared to, let me assure you that she is now being held in my chambers and shall never again see the light of day. Of course, if those other two cows want to see her again, then they'll have to come forward and pay the ultimate price or else I'll have no choice but to turn her into an ice statue. If I were you, I wouldn't bother with delivering those stupid toys for the little brats outside; because no child will be there by the time you finish reading this letter. The star now belongs to me. Have a very unhappy Christmas!**_

_**Signed,**_

_**Crystal, the Ice Empress of Stone Cold Mountain**_

In anger, Santa crinkled the letter in the palm of his fists and threw it on the ground. It wasn't Grace that locked the door; it was that wicked cold-hearted ice woman who burst in here to swipe the star off the tree and swept her away. What was he going to do about this? The poor dear at this time might be shivering in the pitiless cold while Crystal enjoyed herself from watching her do this. Now she was sitting atop her throne waiting for Maggie and Mrs. Calloway. He couldn't bear to send them there. And the star was the most important source of Christmas cheer.

Wondering what might have gotten him so worked up; Mrs. Calloway unwrinkled the letter and held it flat on the floor to read.

"Stone Cold Mountain?" she said in a shock. "I knew that horrible woman would be at it again! First she tries to trick us into joining her, and then she almost traps Grace in ice, now she's taken her off to that awful lair of hers."

"What?" Maggie took the letter from Mrs. C to have a look and started to shake in fury. "Why that…that…that…" she couldn't think of the right word to call that woman whilst still shivering. "...that witch!" At those last two words, Maggie's anger eased slightly as she started to breath deeply.

"Let us not jump to conclusions here now!" said Santa who held up his hands to calm the two down a bit. "I understand how you both are feeling about this. I'm feeling the same thing too, but I'm quite positive that there will be a way to get through with this."

He watched Mrs. Calloway attempt to calm Maggie who was still taking deep breaths from fuming. This felt slightly odd for her since she herself was usually the one doing all that. Both of them were still unaware of the spell placed on those blue bonbons about to take control of their personalities. It may have been possible that Maggie was unable to contain herself because of it starting to take effect. Now she was holding her stomach as if she swallowed something sharp.

"Maggie, are you alright?" Mrs. Calloway lowered her head down to see that she had an expression of pain. Before she could come any further, Maggie shoved her back furiously. "Maggie!" she scolded. Santa took one step back from this, but then moved forward again already suspecting that something else was wrong other than with Grace being kidnapped by Crystal. The cow's eyes appeared to be changing from normal to steely after every second.

"Snap out of it!" he shouted clapping his hands in front of her face. That did the trick. Maggie turned her head back and forth in confusion.

"What…What just happened to me?" she asked.

"I believe Maggie that because you were so infuriated with Crystal, your stomach had twisted and you pushed me back. Don't you remember?" Mrs. Calloway specified trying not to lose her temper from what happened recently. She knew there were more important things at hand.

"I…I…I don't know what came over me, I swear," Maggie replied shamefully not knowing what else to say. "I know I was angry, but I'd never…"

"I don't believe that you meant to push her like that on purpose," Santa proclaimed putting his left hand on her back softly. Maggie gazed up at him as he still spoke. "It seems to me that Crystal has somehow managed to place one of her spells on you without being noticed. Think back now; do any of you remember anything suspicious on your way here?"

"Not that we know of except that…" Mrs. Calloway stopped short when she remembered what Grace brought to them in Sweet Shop Lane. "…except that Grace did bring us these strange bonbons she urged us to try and taste." Then she shook her head doubtfully. "But that's impossible; isn't it?"

"Whatever happens, do not think about heading to Stone Cold Mountain alone," Santa warned them. "Because that is exactly what she wants you to do. There mustn't be any more lives put at risk. And I can't allow her words in that letter to stop me from doing my job tonight. All the children in the world are counting on me just as your friend is counting on us to save her."

"But Santa, what do you think she meant when she said that 'no child will be there by the time you finish reading this letter?'" Rudolph asked.

"I don't know Rudolph," Santa replied sadly. He couldn't help himself from worrying about what was to happen to become of the children in the human world. He didn't care how else Crystal entered here since finding a way to solve the problem was more important now. "But we have to work at this together. Can you stay here with the girls while I go and give an important announcement to everyone?"

"I will Santa," the reindeer answered softly. Santa left through the doors still frosted in a few layers of ice which was beginning to melt a bit.

"What use would Crystal have for the Christmas star?" Maggie asked worriedly not wishing to know what it was.

"I don't know Maggie," Mrs. Calloway answered in the same tone. "I just don't know."

* * *

_Meanwhile in Crystal's ice chamber_

Grace sat in the freezing atmosphere shivering from her head to her feet. Without her earmuffs, her ears felt numb and stiff. Everything in this place was made from ice that never melted. The cold air here was nothing compared to the blizzard back at home where she and her friends would play and have fun with snowball fights. But there was nothing to enjoy here in this dark and lonely cell that had long icicles for bars. She was surrounded in glass-like ice with her back legs chained to the wall. All she could do was shiver in sorrow as she thought about what was going to happen to her. The cell was located behind Crystal's icy throne. Right now, the Ice Empress was in a different room where she was trying to figure out a way to alter the star's powers to use for her own selfish deeds.

"I…I wish…we were…home," she stammered from shivering. She was unable to sing because of her throat beginning to feel raw from the bitter cold. "I…don't like…being…here." Grace carefully moved to the right and lied down to curve herself in protection from the harsh chilled air. But the bad feelings remained inside her mind. She knew quite well that she was no match for Crystal's powers and the woman was much stronger than her as well. Standing up to her was out of the question. She used her pink scarf to wipe her nose carelessly. But now she wished for more winter garments to keep her body from suffering in this bitter cell. All that sorrowful thinking made her feel worse. It was bad enough being Crystal's prisoner while she was also expecting the other two to show up anytime now. Part of her wanted to escape from this cell while the other part didn't want her friends to face the same fate as what Crystal planned for them.

"There is…no way…out of…here," she stuttered miserably gazing at her surroundings. "What do I do?" From the looks of this place, chances of escape are slim.

Her mind turned to Pearl Geisner and the rest of the farm animals. None of them had any idea that she is being held captive in a different realm. If she and her friends never returned, they'll believe that the girls might have fallen victim to vicious coyotes, cattle rustling, or natural disasters. She had to keep her faith up no matter how hopeless this situation may be.

_But how will we ever get home if Crystal's plan succeeds and Christmas is forever ruined for everyone?_ Grace thought hopelessly. The thought of that brought tears to her dismal eyes which froze on the ground where they fell. Her sobbing had echoed in the icy cell. The blond heifer cried bitterly feeling that this was all her fault (although it wasn't). Now her friends' lives are about to be put in further jeopardy the moment they arrive to become victims instead of saving her.

"What's this I hear?" a cold voice broke Grace out of her thoughts as she saw Crystal wave her left hand over the icicles to lift them up in order for her to make an entrance. She walked toward Grace slowly with her hands clasped behind her back. "Oh come now my pet," she maintained sneering at the frozen tears on the cow's frosted face. "Let's not make such a fuss; besides I'm not too worried about you feeling anymore despicable grief over family and friends. Do you know why?" Grace shook her head. "Because the spell inside will freeze your heart like an iceburg allowing me to force you to obey my commands."

Grace looked confused. "What are…you talking…about?"

Crystal snickered and instantly transformed herself into the same cookie girl Grace met who had offered her free samples of the frozen treats. "Care for some frozen treats?" she repeated her line and snorted with laughter. Grace realized in disbelief that Crystal had tricked her into accepting the bonbons back in Candy Land. But then she remembered acting different when she suffered from a major stomachache at the workshop.

"You mean I…" Grace didn't want to think about what Crystal had done.

"That's right my pet," Crystal twitted as she scratched her cold finger underneath the cow's chin smiling unpleasantly. Because her nails were long and sharp, Grace winced feeling fearful that the nail would scratch too deep. She listened as Crystal went on. "Because the three of you couldn't accept my humble bargain, I thought I could make the job easier by…" Grace saw Crystal curl her right hand into a tight fist and then uncurling it to reveal the blue bonbons glowing in her palm. "…offering a few samples of my most enchanted treats." Grace gasped upon listening to this and finally understood. "You see my pet; I placed a spell on these treats that will make you as cold-hearted and malicious as I am. Now my servant, bow down to me." She pointed to the icy floor in demand.

"I'll never bow to you!" Grace spat, taking a step back from her. For a moment, Crystal frowned down at her silently then a sinister smile crossed her blue lips.

"Then I'll have to show you what happens to those who don't abide by my rules," Crystal snapped her fingers and the chains on the cow's ankles unlocked. Grace, who was feeling worn down from the effects of the bitter cold had no strength to fight back as Crystal yanked her out of the cell painfully by her pink scarf.

* * *

_In the courtyard_

She didn't stop dragging her until they entered an enormous room with dozens of statues sitting here and there like something one sees when venturing inside a forbidden ancient temple. All about there were statues of young reindeer, foxes, rabbits, deer, gingerbread people, and **_Mr. Frazzle?!_** How did he get in here? Grace thought, completely stunned. She remembered Crystal threatening to transform her into an ice statue if she didn't agree to her offer. This was why no one wanted to talk about this forbidden region, especially Ester.

"This is what happens when one refuses to serve me, they are turned into ice statues." Crystal released her scarf knowing that Grace already had no intention or enough strength to make a run for it. The young heifer moved slowly toward statues of two large deers and a baby fawn in between them. Her heart filled with pity seeing the lost innocence behind their eyes standing here for many months or possibly years in dead silence. She whirled around to face Crystal with an angry expression.

"Why would you want to harm these poor innocent creatures? Maybe all they wanted was to have a wonderful Christmas with their families and I'm sure they wanted nothing to do with your relentless plot to ruin it!" Grace shouted trying to act brave with what she said. But now her stomach twisted madly causing her to collapse on the icy floor to curl up. This evil spell inside was already too much for her to handle. She was too busy moaning in pain to see or hear Crystal approach.

"Doesn't it hurt to feel extreme pain?" Grace heard her taunt with laughter. Then she felt that icy hand of hers seize her by the scruff of the neck to be pulled back up on her four feet and forced to stand in front of Crystal. Grace watched her wicked smirk turn into an angry frown. This sent shivers down her spine as she was never used to seeing this sort of thing. "Do you want to know what I think of Christmas?" she spat viciously stepping toward Grace who was moving backwards in fear until her back was pressed against a solid icy wall. "It's nothing more than a lame excuse of giving and taking until there is nothing left to give but babbling words of pathetic poetry I have never even heard of." She bends down to meet the bovine's face with a mad glint in her eyes. Grace turned her head away from staring at her. "I don't need anyone telling me what I shouldn't have. I take because I want to." She maintained placing her blue finger underneath Grace's chin to force her head up. "I deserve everything I take, including you." She gave her a quick poke in the chest.

"I'm not yours to take," Grace said weakly in a raw tone.

Crystal could only chuckle lightly hearing this. "What a fool you are to think that you can resist overcoming my spell," she taunted coldly. Then she gave Grace a stunning blow across the face powerful enough to knock her on the floor and snarled. "Let that be a lesson to teach you to talk back to me in that tone of voice!" She strolled over to where the bovine fell and with one quick movement; Crystal kneeled down and lifted her up by the scarf before she had a chance to help herself. Soon Grace was staring in front of Crystal's blue face. "I am going to use the star to create an entire world of eternal winter and you're going to help me or face a terrible fate!" she hissed, pointing to the statues. "I am powerful and you are weak. "Nobody says 'no' to me and you won't either." She pulled tighter on Grace's scarf almost on the verge of choking her. "Am I clear?" Crystal sneered and was finally pleased to see that the bovine sunk her head down in defeat. She knew quite well what that meant. Releasing her, she ordered. "Now bow down to me my humble servant!" Grace obeyed and cowered at her feet miserably. She couldn't help herself from doing so because of the spell. Maybe it was foolish to get her hopes up now that she was bewitched and could do nothing about it.

"Well now that it's settled, why don't we go and see how your friends are doing?" Crystal whirled around and headed to the throne room with Grace following close behind with her head hanging low. Crystal walked out of the room of ice statues and through the icy cells until she stood before her throne chair to have a seat. Grace walked slowly to stand beside her throne. Crystal pointed to a circular mirror as tall as her with its sides covered in small icicles. With a wave of her hand, the mirror glowed to show an image of Maggie and Mrs. Calloway pushing their way through the raging blizzard a mile away from Stone Cold Mountain. "Ah yes, it seems the rest of my servants are on their way over to me!" She looked at Grace with a twisted grin.

As Grace watched her friends in the mirror, tears streaked down her face and froze into the smallest icicles. In truth, she would rather die than spend eternity living as Crystal's servant. But even that choice was impossible. Then afterward, her eyes became steely and blank.


	15. All hope lost?

**Chapter 15: All hope lost?**

_Santa's workshop_

When Santa Clause sent the urgent message to the grand elf, an emergency meeting was called. The head elf waited patiently while a couple of elves, reindeer, gnomes, and fairies still entered. Many of them were curious to know what this was all about since there had not been that many emergency meetings at the North Pole unless it was a real emergency. But this time, Santa was serious.

"What do you think is wrong?" whispered a brown-haired female elf in a blue suit.

"I don't know, but it doesn't seem good," whispered a fairy flying above her head.

All the elves and gnomes gathered to sit at the work tables with Santa standing up in front of them. The fairies hovered in midair to sit atop a few shelves on the walls. Some of the reindeer and elves sat on the floor when there was no room to sit at the tables. Others just stood up. They all had their attention turned to Santa who was still waiting for the crowd to be silent. Santa cleared his throat after everyone fell silent for him to give his discussion.

"Attention everyone!" Santa called out. "We are gathered here because of a great disaster that has befallen." Everyone in the workshop murmured and exchanged puzzled glances at one another. "The Christmas star has been stolen and if we don't get it back by midnight tonight, Christmas will be cancelled!"

The whispers had now become a cry of alarm. None of them could believe what they were hearing. Who would want to steal the star and how could this have happened?

"But who has stolen it?" a pink fairy called from a shelf.

"There has never been a Christmas without the star!" cried another fairy.

"What will we do?" a small reindeer jumped to his feet.

"Settle down now!" Santa spoke trying to calm everyone. "Will everyone please not panic?" he cleared his throat after silence endured once again. "As I was saying, the star was swiped by none other than Crystal." A cry of alarm echoed once again. Crystal was evidently the only enemy of this realm who hates Christmas and all that it stands for. Despite the cries, Santa continued. "…but that's not all; one of the guests lead here by Rudolph was kidnapped as well. We all must…"

BOOM! The doors to the hallways burst open revealing Rudolph with his fur all frizzy and covered in damps of snow. The crowd turned their attention to him when he had interrupted Santa's speech.

"Rudolph my boy, what happened?" Santa asked in shock.

"The girls are gone Santa!" replied Rudolph. "They just burst out the door and out into the raging blizzard. I lost sight of them after I tripped and fell from a steep slope. You were right Santa, Crystal has somehow cast a spell over them and now they are on their way to her mountain!" He lowered his head feeling sorry for them. The crowds gasped at hearing him say this. How can they possibly save the three cows and retrieve the star in time?

"I never meant for them to be put in danger," said Ester gloomily. "I only wanted to prove to them that the North Pole really exists."

"Blaming yourselves won't solve anything," Santa spoke without raising his voice. "And there is no time for self-pity. Remember now, the Christmas star is important to all of us here; without its glow, there can never be another Christmas ever. And without that glow, we may all disappear." The crowd whispered and then grew silent. No one else had anything to say about this. "Now she has three innocent cows under her evil spell to carry out her deed. These cows are heroes in their own world and it is important that we work together to save them and the star. Christmas is for everyone, especially them. We can't let bad feelings bring us down whenever something bad happens; we learn to pull through with them. No one should deserve to be left behind in the snow without anyone to look out for you." Everyone agreed to that. "Now let us put our plan into action!" The crowd cheered and gathered to listen to each and everyone's rescue plan.

* * *

_In the frozen wastelands_

When Maggie and Mrs. Calloway were warned not to travel to Stone Cold Mountain alone at the time Grace was abducted, they felt confident that Santa had a plan up his sleeve since he may have known more about Crystal than they did. And there was a meaningful reason why it was never a smart idea to come face to face with a lady twice stronger and powerful than they can ever imagine.

Unfortunately, everything would have turned out well for them if it weren't for Crystal's evil spell already spreading throughout their bodies. The spell had given them senses indicating that someone was calling out to them somewhere on a mountain. Rudolph felt that he and Santa had underestimated Crystal's secret power after the girls violently pushed him aside on their way out the back door without feeling guilty of what they had done. No matter how hard the red nosed reindeer tried to stop the two, the girls kept on moving into a different tunnel entrance that would lead them straight to Crystal's lair. He had lost sight of them while the snow was still falling thickly and heavily. Not even his red nose could help him find them. They were completely lost to Crystal's spell. He kept calling out their names until his voice fell weak and there was not even an echo or the ringing of a bell in answer. Rudolph, knowing that it was hopeless finding them in this foggy raging blizzard was able to find his way back to the workshop and warn Santa.

After the two walked all the way to the ends of the twisted tunnel, they didn't realize where they were until they came to their senses since the spell had no full control over them yet. From where the two stood, the sky was darker without any stars while the snowflakes swirled all over the areas.

"What, how in all the blazes did we get here?" Maggie shouted through the blizzard. This cold temperature was not the least bit pleasant to have fun in. "I can't see a dang thing here!"

"If my guesses are right, I must say that this is the place that will lead us to Grace!" responded Mrs. Calloway who covered her eyes halfway from the falling snow. "But I don't know or care how else we arrived here but there is no going back now. We don't even know the way!"

"Well that's good news to hear!" Maggie said sarcastically protecting her eyes. "We might as well give in to Blizzard Breath!" Opening her eyes, she could see that Mrs. Calloway had already started walking in the deep snow straight ahead to some dark figure none of them could see through the drafty fog. "Hey wait for me!" she shrieked scampering after her.

Despite the thickness of the fog passing through, the girls did not stop or make any turns when crossing through the snowy mounds. There were many hidden edges or stumps that caused them to keep tripping, skidding and sliding all the way down. Whenever that happened they would often crash into each other and argue over whose fault that was. The spell was now doing a great job of changing their personalities a bit on the way. But then again, sometimes the two would forget what it was they were talking about or why they were arguing in the first place. Soon the memories of their adventures and living on Patch of Heaven would cease to exist.

Afterward the blizzard decreased with only minimal snowflakes falling softly enough to reveal the snowy path. The cows shivered like leaves in the wind from the freezing cold. They must have been getting closer. If it weren't for the thickness of the fog drifting off in the eastern direction, then the two might have never seen the dark figure turn a little clearer. Mrs. Calloway brushed off loads of snow that fell on her back. Their hides became soaked increasing the freezing temperatures in their bodies.

At last the two arrived on top of a taller hill where it was now clear to see the dark figure reveal to be the tallest snow mountain in this frozen wasteland. The mountain looked more like a castle with sharp, pointed icicles for towers all around it. A huge eerie shadow had been cast on the snow over them. It must have been Crystal's home. As much as the cows were afraid of going inside of there, there was still no possibility of going back to find Santa's workshop through the thick raging blizzard. Grace had to still be in there alive.

"There it is, Stone Cold Mountain!" Mrs. Calloway cried as she and Maggie stood a couple feet far from where the mountain stood. Their eyesight had been watered and a little blurry from the low temperature. But they were still able to see the mountain better than before.

"Alright, think we should give that woman a real taste of hard winter?" Maggie spoke bravely through gritted teeth.

"Maybe, but I wouldn't count on it too soon," Mrs. Calloway advised. "Remember, this is no ordinary woman we are dealing with. She is much more evil and powerful than any other enemy we've faced. We might not stand much of a chance against her."

"I don't care what she is," Maggie replied seriously. "Whatever scheme she's planning is not going to work; not if we can figure out a plan to put a stop to it!"

It was then that Maggie had already started tramping down the snowy hill and straight toward the gates of the mountain. Mrs. Calloway sighed heavily from seeing her act without thinking straight about not underestimating Crystal's powers. But they were never going to give up on Grace, even if Crystal is all powerful. And by the time they are all under her control, Santa will save them; hopefully.

"Where are you going?" called Mrs. Calloway. "Wait for me why don't you?"

The girls walked on and on without stopping to take a short rest. The only sound present came the icy winds blowing by to leave a few more snowflakes covering their hides. Not even their winter garments could protect them from the cold in this wasteland any longer.

* * *

_Inside the mountain_

The two stood before the gates made out of shining glass. Without warning, the gates opened slowly with a loud creak. They looked at each other in confusion, but shrugged and went in with no further objection. Inside the gate, there was a long hallway of stone pillars lined up on each side with no turns. The further they ventured onward, the more scared they became fearful of having to lose themselves in this dark passageway.

Maggie could feel her heart thumping mercilessly as if it were about to burst. Maybe she and Mrs. Calloway shouldn't be here. This was definitely no place for dairy cows to venture in; especially since they know nothing of how to handle evil spells. The ransom note back at the workshop did mention that if they want to see her again, the two would have to come and face her to accept an offer they can never refuse. Deep down inside, Maggie and Mrs. Calloway knew that Grace was taken here as bait to catch them. But that was a risk they were willing to take.

"Doesn't this place make you wish that you got out more often?" Maggie whispered to Mrs. Calloway.

"I couldn't agree more," answered Mrs. Calloway as she shook off bits of snow off her scarf and earmuffs. "Glad we don't have to live in such a dreadful place." Even if those words were said, she felt that they would soon prove her wrong.

By the time they reached the end of the hallway, there was a flight of icy steps leading up to another wide open door. The two went in and found themselves in a strange throne room made and covered in ice with more pillars aligned. There in the center of the room sat an empty grand chair carved fancifully like any real valuable chair in a mansion; and beside it sat a tall mirror. But where were Crystal and Grace?

"So you've finally come at last," a cold voice sent shivers down Maggie's spine; same with Mrs. Calloway. "I was afraid you'd never make it in time." A blue spectral trail zoomed passed between the two a moment before the doors shut tight locking them in with nowhere to turn. The trail headed toward the chair to transform into the great lady Crystal, the Ice Empress. There she sat with her legs crossed as a slow cruel smile crossed her blue lips. They could barely avoid contact with those horrible eyes of hers.

"Where is our friend, Grace?" asked Maggie with enough courage to take a step forward, but not too close.

"Oh you must mean the other pretty bovine," Crystal answered still smiling cruelly. "I do believe she was expecting you as well." Snapping her fingers, Grace appeared beside Crystal from behind a puff of smoke. Instead of looking happy to see her two friends, the heifer's eyes were steely and her blond hide appeared to have turned a little pale blue. She couldn't even turn her attention to them. "Sit down my pet," Crystal ordered pointing her finger on the icy floor. Grace obeyed mindlessly.

"Grace, what do you think you're doing?" Mrs. Calloway asked sternly. "Come down here!" When Grace did not answer, she turned angrily to Crystal. "What is this? Turn her back at once!" she demanded.

"Afraid I can't do that!" Crystal laughed. "You see, now that my spell has taken full effect over her, she obeys only me and no one else!" She looked back at the two and went on. "And so will the rest of you!"

"We said turn her back!" Maggie began to charge at Crystal in a fury, ignoring Mrs. Calloway's words to come back.

Crystal did not even move or appeared to be the least bit scared as she watched Maggie still coming at her. Before the cow had the chance to jump for an attack, Crystal threw her right arm out straight and released a full arctic blast from the palm of her blue hand that pushed Maggie back sliding her onto the ground and crashing into Mrs. Calloway.

"That didn't go too well," Maggie grunted as she tried to get back up but stopped short when her stomach twisted in total pain. "Oh no, not this again!" she cried out.

Soon Mrs. Calloway began clutching her stomach tightly and fell on the floor in pain. "What's going on here?" she hollered with her eyes shut tight and her teeth gritting.

"You two have been bewitched by the same spell that turned your dear friend into my eternal servant." Crystal answered as she stepped slowly to where they were lying. The cows were shocked by hearing this and stopped cringing. There was no way for them to get through to Grace now if they were going to end up like her anyway. "She belongs to me now."

"Santa was right; no wonder we've been acting haywire with each other!" Maggie finally understood how they arrived in this wasteland.

"But how…?" before Mrs. Calloway could ask how this happened, Crystal cut her off and held out her right hand to show them the same blue bonbons Grace had urged them to taste a while back.

"Oh just a small temporary dose of what I like to call frozen treats," she answered. "Your friend was foolish enough to believe that these were only simple sweets."

"So you tricked Grace into giving us the _sweets?!_" Mrs. Calloway slowly rose up on her feet and stared furiously at Crystal. "How dare you do that!" Crystal shrugged off her words and turned her back to Grace.

"Come here!" She demanded. The two watched as Grace began to come forward and stand beside Crystal. Her face did not move slightly, nor did she blink her eyes. "Take one look at your little friend here!" Crystal hissed as she grabbed at the bewitched cow's face and forced her to stare directly at Maggie and Mrs. Calloway in those steely eyes. "Wouldn't you rather let her serve me alone in this cold forbidding atmosphere without her remembering if she had family?

"Stop that!" shouted Maggie who was still lying on the floor. Even if Grace was in a trance, she could tell that she was suffering on the inside.

"Wouldn't you?" she hollered pulling on her face tightly. "You should know that I have an intention of turning the three of you into ice statues to add in my collection unless you agree to serve me and be with your friend so she won't have to feel alone." The girls paused before answering. Mrs. Calloway looked long and hard on the ground and heaved a sad sigh.

"If we join you, there will be more innocent lives at stake won't there?" she asked glancing over at Grace whose face was still being held by Crystal's strong grasp. Neither she nor Maggie liked the idea of becoming slaves to the ice lady before them. Then she turned away and spat.

"We wouldn't bow to you if you were last human being on earth!" she declared.

"What choice do you have?" Crystal asked scornfully. "You've already taken a bite out of my special treats and you have nothing else to promise that'll make me change my mind over keeping you. So what's it going to be? Serve me…or be lost in ice?" That was Crystal's final offer.

The two cows thought this through before answering. Could they really turn themselves in to Crystal? Wouldn't that count as betrayal to their family and all those who have helped them through the toughest times? They could never do a thing like that. But even if they refused, the spell would could still overpower them and make them obey every command Crystal gives. And the lady did have a point about not having any other choice. Now there was no going back on this offer.

"We'll do as you wish," Maggie answered with guilt-ridden eyes.


	16. Breaking the Spell

**Chapter 16: Breaking the Spell**

"Maggie!" Mrs. Calloway looked at Maggie and couldn't believe what she just said. This can't be happening right now. "You can't be serious."

"She's right," Maggie answered weakly. "There is nothing we can do about what has been done to Grace and the two of us." She slowly grunted as she rose up on her feet. "Besides, we can't allow her to be lost alone. We should all stay together like we always do." Then she turned to Crystal. "You win; now we'll serve at your command." The Ice Empress gave a sinister smile and crossed her arms.

"See, that wasn't so hard now was it," she mocked. "Now bow before your empress!" The strong effect of Crystal's spell forced the cows, including Grace to bow before who was to be their new empress. Mrs. Calloway did not want to believe that they would be lost forever living as Crystal's servants in this cold dismal environment. Not only that, but this made her heart sink lower to think about the family back at home wondering what happened to them.

"We won't be lost forever," she whispered sadly with her head facing the icy ground. "We'll be home soon; I hope." She refused to cry or shed a tear, despite the powerful force spreading inside of her.

"Alright, now follow me," Crystal ordered her three new servants as they rose up and followed close behind her. "There is so much to do and very little time."

"Don't worry, Santa won't let her control us," Maggie whispered to Mrs. Calloway beside her. In a moment, her eyes grew weary and steely as her hide transformed from her normal color to dark cold blue. Now she was lost inside.

Mrs. Calloway couldn't utter a word of comfort or hope since her mind became filled with a strong desire to serve their mistress through a lustful pleasure. The cows memories were becoming erased and being replaced with thoughts of destruction, malice, and insanity. A cold, calculating look crossed Mrs. Calloway's face as the cows still followed Crystal into a room where the star was being kept in. She was willing to serve the Ice Empress at all costs and nothing would stand in their way. The color of her hide turned blue as well.

Crystal clapped her hands twice when she led the cows to the end of a passageway. The wall of ice moved to reveal an empty room with the star protected in a glass case set on a shining glass table. Walking inside, Crystal seized the case with both hands and placed it under her left arm to hold tightly. Then she whirled around to face the girls.

"Come; I know of a place where we can see how well you do with your new powers," she laughed cruelly and snapped her fingers as a swirling bluish cloud covered them a moment before they all vanished.

Unbeknownst to Crystal however, this whole event had been viewed by a blue-haired pixie in a blue dress. She had volunteered to fly to Cold Stone Mountain and spy on Crystal to see what she was up to. Her eyes filled with worry when she thought about what would happen to everyone in this realm once everyone had fallen victim to the powers of the Ice Empress and her new servants under her control.

"Those poor cows, this is awful!" she drawled sorrowfully remembering when she saw how Grace was easily being controlled. Her heart had also sunk when she witnessed the cows being succumbed to whatever spells that cold hearted woman placed over them. "I can still warn Santa and Rudolph what she has done." And with that she zoomed off. She could never fight off Crystal alone since she knew that she was only a single tiny fairy and would need a whole army of magical beings.

* * *

_In the snowy forest_

In a cavern lying amongst the midst of the forest, a herd of deer slept peacefully unaware of the dangers that were to occur. In their dreams, the adults had been watching over their young ones play together happily while chewing cud in the ground. There was nothing that could disturb their natural way of living. Suddenly, everyone stopped what they were doing as soon as a burst of blue light shot from the sky and sped straight in their direction like a comet. There was not enough time for them to move aside before it came down on them with a bang!

"Well done, my humble servant," said a cold voice with satisfaction. It was Crystal who stood to watch a bewitched Grace use her new power on the sleeping herd to trap them in blocks of ice. Whenever her eyes flashed an immense glow, which was when a spell was cast. The poor heifer had no clue what she was doing while being controlled by a curse more powerful than any of the cows might have imagined. "I'm beginning to like you a whole lot more." All Grace could do was staring blankly at the frozen deer and to her empress without conscience. Crystal placed the same black spectacles over her eyes and removed the star from its glass imprisonment. "We are not finished yet though; time to see how this star truly works."

The ice woman's eyes flashed blue as she raised her left hand over the star. Its white pure shine began to fade into a pale blue. Crystal spotted a few chipmunks in a pine tree and aimed the star at them. In a few moments, the chipmunks flashed a blue color and for no reason, attacked each other mindlessly. This had given Crystal a smile of pleasure and shameful joy. Her magic had worked indeed. Throwing the black spectacles aside in the snow, she turned to Grace and the other two who had arrived from finishing the job of freezing a river with fish swimming around. Now the fish were trapped with no hope of restoration. Even Maggie and Mrs. Calloway were unable to break out of their trance since Crystal's spells are too much for any mortal to handle. It would take a true miracle to break the spell over them. All three of them watched as Crystal held the star high up in the air creating ice walls and a fierce snowstorm. The winds picked up causing the trees and bushes to sway forth swiftly. Soon the snowflakes followed afterward. White grey clouds covered the blue sky with snow falling more fiercely trapping all living things in blocks of hard ice.

Because Crystal had been so focused on a lust for eternal winter, she failed to notice something zoom over to her and miraculously swipe the star clear out of her blue hands.

"What is this!" the woman gasped. She whirled around to find Rudolph holding the star in his mouth and handing it over to none other than Santa. Now even though Saint Nick was not the type to be easily angered, he stared at the Ice Empress like any grandfather would whenever a child did anything beyond naughty. Crystal was no exception.

"So you're responsible for the theft of our star!" he shouted furrowing his brow. "And is this the way you handle taking what doesn't belong to you?" With a sprinkle of fairy dust from his magic snowsuit, the star reverted back to its pure shine. "Now free those cows from your spell or I'll have to do it myself!"

"Not so fast Mr. Clause!" Crystal scowled with a smirk. "You may have taken the star, but the cows are still mine!" She turned to face the cows standing in the snow with blank expressions on their faces. "Turn those simpletons into icicles!" she ordered pointing her finger at Santa and Rudolph. The cows walked forward with their eyes twinkling blue to release a bolt of light straight at them.

"You're not her evil servants!" Rudolph called out dodging a few blasts coming from Maggie's pupils. But the reindeer went on. "Crystal doesn't care about you; she only wants to use you to help her destroy Christmas and all that it stands for. And you're close to doing it!" He dodged another blast from Mrs. Calloway. "Please listen, if you don't snap out of it soon, you'll be lost to her forever!" again he dodged another blast. "Crystal is not your mistress; your real home is on a farm in Colorado. Don't you remember what you told me before? Pearl Geisner is your real guardian!" The cows stopped in their tracks and stared blankly at Rudolph when he mentioned that familiar name.

"Don't just stand there, finish the job!" Crystal hollered clenching her fists. Grace shot a straight blast trying to catch Rudolph, but the reindeer kept on dodging and calling out to them.

"Keep going Rudolph!" reminded Santa who kept the star safely in his hands.

"Think about it! What would your real guardian think if she saw you doing this?"

At that moment, the cows paused once again with their hooves buried deep within the snow. Something seemed to be coming to their minds other than destroying everything in sight. An image of three piglets, a grumpy goat, happy little chicks, two adult pigs, a chicken, an egotistical horse, and…

"Enough with the chit chat already!" Crystal interfered again only this time her finger touched at the tiny circular sapphire stone imbedded in the center of her crown. "…time to get serious!"

Altogether the girls used their blast making it impossible for the red nosed reindeer to move aside as his feet were becoming trapped in ice and slowly rising above. They wouldn't stop until he was covered entirely. So Rudolph figured there was one last option for him to do.

"If you don't remember me, maybe this will help!" closing his eyes tightly, his nose shined bright enough to stop the girls from finishing the job as they began to back up covering their eyes. Since all of Crystal's spells had involved trapping things in ice and turning a warm heart to coldness, they would never any match for Rudolph's shine. Right now, she had been protecting her eyes as well. "Possessing this sort of power will only bring about misery and unhappiness to not only those who love you, but other innocent lives as well. Do you think this is what Christmas is all about?"

The girls uncovered their eyes and stared at the ground without winking as they were hit by other memories. There came images of a town, bounty hunter, a cattle rustler and a kind elderly woman. Their eyes suddenly began to blink and flutter rapidly as the blue color on their hides slowly melted away to uncover the normal natural colors. Healing warmth spread throughout their bodies. It was the warmth of love and kindness they had felt back at home. And it was warm enough to break Crystal's spell over them as their eyes were no longer steely or blank. Now that they were awakened, the girls looked around in puzzlement to find that they were in a different frozen wasteland.

"Where are we now?" Grace asked curiously. Rudolph smiled in relief.

"You've done well Rudolph," Santa advised, putting his hand on Rudolph's back.


	17. Crystal's Last Stand

**Chapter 17: Crystal's Last Stand**

"Whoa do I have a headache or what?" Maggie groaned rubbing the sides of her head. Rudolph let out a light chuckle from hearing her say that.

"I daresay, what unusual weather we're having," Mrs. Calloway said turning her head from left to right. Did something happened recently or what? Hey wait a minute…that's it! Mrs. C's eyes widened in shock as another memory came back to her. "What have we…did we really cause all this?"

"You mean this whole frozen stand is our doing?" Maggie added feeling as if she had been struck by lightening.

"What will we do when everyone wakes up and knows we're responsible?" Grace said in a panic.

"It wasn't your fault at all," Santa claimed, stepping toward them. "There will be time to explain once we get this star back to the workshop." The cows stared in wonder at the shining Christmas star Santa held in his hands. They hadn't already forgotten about their magical journey in this realm; about how Maggie talked about the North Pole, Santa Clause and all his reindeer. They believed in Santa Clause now that he was here to help them out of a dangerous situation and get back home safely. He smiled warmly enough to convince them that there was nothing to feel ashamed about while under Crystal's control.

But suddenly his body went tense as a look of panic shot through his face. "Look out!" he warned Grace as he pointed to an intense ultramarine glow shimmering under her four feet.

"I am not FINISHED WITH YOU YET!!" a cold voice broke in the moment when it was too late for Grace to step aside as the Ice Empress transformed herself and wrapped her arms tightly around her.

"Let go of me you…you…frostbitten witch!" Grace screamed as she struggled in her grasp. Crystal could only snicker while a blue smoke cloud swirled around them to disappear out of thin air.

"Grace!" both girls cried out when their friend was taken from them once again.

"Ah dang it; Blizzard Breath is at it again!" Maggie shook her right hoof madly like an angry human clenching their fist. "Now she'll surely turn Grace into a valuable collector's item!"

"But even if we confront her, she could do the same to us as well!" Mrs. Calloway added in with the same kind of anger mixed with fear of loss.

"It isn't too late," Santa assured them. "We'll get her back, but not alone." He whirled around and put his fingers in his mouth to whistle some sort of signal. A sleigh pulled by eight reindeer burst from behind the trees and stopped beside the group. "Climb on, there isn't any more time to waste," he said as he climbed up to sit in the front. Out of the enchanted cargo hold popped a few pixies and Ester the gnome who were hiding in red sacks. The girls smiled in relief and did as Santa told them knowing that there was now a chance to face the Ice Empress with these little helpers.

Before Santa snapped the reins, he handed the star to Rudolph and asked if he could take it back to the workshop. In response, the reindeer flew out of sight hurried as fast as he could since the night was clear enough for the eight reindeer to fly through without any sort of trouble.

* * *

_Back at Stone Cold Mountain_

"I said put me down!" cried Grace while was being carried over Crystal's shoulder in a tight grip. Even if the spell was broken, she was still not strong enough to break away from this woman. "Put me down or I'll…ouch!" she never had a chance to finish her sentence when the Ice Empress flung her off and threw her across the icy floor of the courtyard filled with ice statues of past victims. Quietly, she lifted herself up ignoring the pain from the fall without taking any notice of Crystal standing behind her.

"If I can't have you as my servant…" Crystal began in a cry of outrage from having her entire plans foiled. Then her tone grew higher. "…Then I'll keep you as my prized collectible!" Grace stepped back in shock remembering what Crystal had warned her about what happens to those who don't obey her commands. And she was still no match for her evil powers. If she tried to run, Crystal would eventually catch up to her. But before anything happened, Crystal cleared her throat and circled around Grace.

"However…" she pretended to think hard. "There is still a way for you to avoid this fate if…" her voice trailed off.

"If I what?" Grace asked already knowing what she was going to say.

"If you serve me by my side," Crystal answered.

Shocked by those words, Grace felt all her hopes sink in the back of her mind. Deep inside, she was also quivering in anger from everything that this woman tried to do to her and her friends.

"Remember," her cold voice broke through her mixed emotions. "If you do so, you'll never have to grow old." She watched the blond heifer lift her head up to meet her cold dark eyes.

"NEVER!" Grace snapped. Despite standing no chance against her and having been enslaved to a spell, Grace would never betray those who loved and cared about her to some evil-hearted person. Besides, she may be back in Crystal's clutches but Maggie and Mrs. Calloway were still free and safe with Santa Clause. Hopefully there may be a chance for her to be rescued.

"As you wish," Crystal gazed down at Grace with an even colder expression as she pointed her finger to touch the tiny sapphire stone in her crown.

Instantly Grace looked down to see her four legs solidifying and rising up slowly. She shut her eyes to remind herself to be strong forbidding those tears to spill. But as the unbearable confining stone crept over her body, her fear returned. To be trapped in ice seemed simply horrifying to think about what would happen to her if it was forever. What if she were to stand in this spot all the silent days year after year until her face and body would crumble away from old age? Her sorrowful eyes gazed up at Crystal who seemed to be enjoying this moment of triumph. Then as the hard ice fully encased her, all that was left on her face appeared to be a feeling of loneliness.

"Finally, my most valuable item is complete," Crystal laughed cruelly at the new statue standing before her in the courtyard. "I warned you before about what happens if you don't abide by my rules of this mountain, but you didn't listen." She crossed her arms circling the statue as she continued mocking. "Although I have lost the star, I'll still be powerful enough to cast a spell of eternal winter over the human world and there will be nothing left for old Saint Nick to give. That is the one thing I would appreciate most of all. Then I won't have to hear any more of that insignificant caroling or irritating cheering of Christmas spirit." Then she paused to stand staring directly at the cow's frozen saddened expression. "Face it my pet; you are in my possession now and forever!" Her wicked laughter echoed throughout the courtyard.

Crystal ceased laughing when she noticed a few tears forming in the stoned heifer's eyes. They froze into little tiny icicles on her cheeks. "Oh now don't take it so hard my pet," she whispered darkly with her fingertips wiping away the tears. "Look at it this way; you'll be able to keep your pretty face for all time!" She moved her left hand to place it on Grace's back and pretended that she was stroking the hide of a real cow. "Plus I think you've turned out to be the prettiest statue in my collection; more beautiful than the rest!"

It was true; Crystal vowed to possess any statue with the most beautiful or handsome face since she only viewed what was on the outside instead of inside. For many long minutes, she stood there admiring the statue of Grace with her arms crossed and a wicked smirk across her blue face. It didn't seem like anything would disturb this moment of pleasure until the tune from what sounded like a flute played in the throne room.

"What is that horrible racket?" Crystal hissed as she ran out of the courtyard to investigate the noise.

"C'mon, she's gone!" from above an opening in the wall, a pink fairy signaled for her other fairy friends to fly inside carrying red bags filled with pixie dust. Their plan was to sprinkle the dust over the statues and carry them back outside to place in the enchanted cargo hold of Santa's sleigh. But first, they had to start out from the smallest to largest of statues since the smaller ones were less heavy. One by one, each statue was sprinkled and carried out of the opening safely without ever dropping.

* * *

_In the throne room_

Crystal stomped suspiciously hoping she would catch whoever made that intense racket. But all she could find was her own throne chair and the ice mirror. But she was not yet convinced about someone not being in here.

"That's odd…I'm sure there was…" Crystal reached the stairs puzzled when the tune had stopped playing.

Little did she know that the tune was played by Ester the gnome hiding behind one of the pillars? His plan was to distract Crystal with a Christmas tune while the pixies carried each statue out of the courtyard. And the last part of the plan was to restrain Crystal and cover her eyes when she had least expected it.

The moment came when Crystal has halfway down the stairs still looking around in suspicion for whoever played that tune. Ester had given the signal by shouting "NOW!" and running as he sped past Crystal so she wouldn't be able to notice a lasso thrown in her direction from behind.

"What in the…!" Crystal shrieked when the lasso yanked around her midsection with her arms held down. She tried to whirl around and see who threw the rope but was then blinded when Maggie popped out from behind a pillar and turned Crystal's crown upside down to cover her eyes to prevent her from casting telekinetic powers over anyone.

"I got her!" she shouted triumphantly.

It was Santa who had Crystal by a strong rope designed not to break easily. Then he handed the end of it to Mrs. Calloway who held it with her teeth.

"Quick help me restrain her!" She said through her teeth.

With Maggie's help, they were able to drag Crystal over to one of the pillars to be tied up. Nobody could make out what she was saying since the crown had covered her mouth as well. But they guessed that it might have been threatening verbs. With a quick yank of the rope, Crystal slipped on one foot and landed on the floor with a thud. This had made it easier for Maggie to run around the pillar while still holding the rope in her mouth. With that settled Santa took the end of the rope and tied it around the pillar next to the one where she was tied.

"That'll hold her, hopefully," he said wiping his hands. "Now let's go save your friend."

"Ha, how do you like that Blizzard Breath?" Maggie shouted over her shoulder at a restrained Crystal kicking and mumbling beneath the crown covering her face. It almost sounded like she was about to blow her top off from hearing what she had been called.

"C'mon Maggie hurry!" Mrs. Calloway could be heard a few feet away. Maggie scampered over to them as fast as her legs could carry her.

* * *

_In the courtyard_

The fairies were still sprinkling dust over a few last statues and carrying them out of the opening. They had to use a lot of dust over the bigger statues because of their enormous weight. The cows entered the courtyard along with Santa and Ester. So this is where Crystal kept all her so-called valuable statues.

"Whoa, this place sure ain't my kind of idea for a museum of natural history," Maggie said feeling uneasy from remembering what Crystal said about turning them into ice statues if they did not agree to cooperate.

"It won't be like that for long once all these statues are out of this dreadful room," Mrs. Calloway orated.

"But where is Grace?"

"Over there!" Mrs. Calloway pointed over to a statue of a familiar young heifer standing between a stoned Mr. Frazzle and a gingerbread man.

Shocked by what they have seen, the two ran over to see if it really was Grace behind the statue. It was her all right; the same eyes which were now saddened froze stiff never to move again (or so it seemed that way.) This was almost far worse than anything they've ever experienced. If Grace was still alive in there, then it may have been possible that she was going mad from being trapped in the endless darkness and confusion of not being able to tell if it was day or night. Whatever she might have been thinking in there, it might be that she was hoping for this madness to end.

"Grace, if you're in there…"Maggie shouted in the statue's right ear hoping that Grace was not lost. "…hang on, we're getting you out!" Grace was now the last one left in the courtyard when the gingerbread man and Mr. Frazzle were flown out safely.

"Don't worry Grace," Mrs. Calloway said calmly beside her as if sensing the pain inside of this lonely statue. "We promise you, it will all be over soon."

"Where are you going with my prized statue?" a cold voice boomed at the entrance of the courtyard before the pixies could sprinkle dust over Grace. Crystal moved in slowly holding the loose rope she had been tied with in her left fist. Somehow or other, she had freed herself. To her surprise, the entire courtyard had been emptied out with nothing left but these four last victims and the stoned cow. "WHERE ARE MY STATUES!!" she hollered at the top of her lungs loud enough to cause a few icicles to fall from above.

CLANK, CLANK, CLANK!! The icicles had fallen like chandeliers in a grand mansion, but were nowhere near to where everyone stood luckily. Santa whispered something to the fairies which Crystal could not make out what. The fairies whizzed past her like fireflies out through the entrance, but Crystal didn't care about them. Finally, the jolly old elf had enough of her maliciousness and stepped up to her with a stern look on his face.

"Alright Crystal, this has gone far enough!" he began. "What you have done to those poor statues and to these three innocent cows are beyond one of the most despicable and cunning things I have ever experienced. Now we're here to put a stop to it and make sure you never harm anyone ever again."

Crystal let out a mocking laugh. There was no way this old fool could ever stop her from leaving this place. Because she was still laughing, she didn't notice the pixies fly back in carrying some sort of object wrapped in a white cloth. Santa turned to the cows and shushed them with a finger over his mouth as he motioned for the fairies to carry that thing and place it against the icy wall to the left. The cows figured that he had a plan up his sleeve in case Crystal refused to cooperate with leaving the North Pole in peace.

"This is no laughing matter!" said Santa pretending to sound annoyed. "You don't own anybody; not even this poor young one!" he pointed to the statue of Grace. "These cows are not grand objects that you can just take to use for whatever purpose; they belong to themselves and deserve to be back in their real home with someone who looks after and takes care of them kindly. Which is something you would never give," Crystal's laugh grew lower and stopped. "And furthermore, even though the true spirit of Christmas is not important to you at all, it is important to everyone who believes and they're counting on me tonight!" Then he became calm. "Don't you see? Christmas isn't about gifts, candy canes, tinsel, or fancy lights. It's about the real magic of goodwill, giving, compassion, and spending that one special day with friends and family."

Maggie and Mrs. Calloway stood by their stoned companion astonished by every word Santa said. They were almost on the verge of bursting into happy tears from what not only about what he said about the three of them, but about other selfless people out in the world. And despite being a statue, warm tears shed at the corner of Grace's eyes.

Crystal stood there and looked at everyone, untouched by Santa's words or seeing the tears on what she still believed was "her" new statue. Then her fists curled up as she let out a low growl. "ENOUGH!" she shouted as she waved her arms to use her telekinetic powers to throw everyone aside as she moved toward Grace. "I told you before; I take because I want to!" she threw her arms around the statue refusing to let go. "And this statue is mine forever! Everything I take belongs to me, only me!"

"Wow you're even dumber than we thought you are!" Maggie's voice caught Crystal's attention breaking through her desire.

Before the Ice Empress could say anything else, she noticed that the girls were standing in front of something covered in a white cloth. Forgetting about the statue, she stalked toward their position and eyed them suspiciously. "What are you hiding behind there?"

"Hiding, what would we be hiding?" Maggie put on a fake smile and pretended to be confused. "Honestly we have nothing else to give to the likes of you!" her tone became serious and stern.

"And nobody ever wanted to share an eternal winter wasteland with you; because only you wanted it for yourself!" Mrs. Calloway added in the same tone. Her face turned into an angry frown. "You of course had no right to use the three of us for such a devious plot."

"Oh and tell me, what are you going to do to stop me?" Crystal snickered. "You have no powers and you're friend was no match against me!"

"Ha, Ha, Ha, laugh all you want Blizzard Breath!" Maggie replied sarcastically.

Crystal hissed and stared down at Maggie. "What did you call me?"

"She called you a weak-minded, good-for-nothing, hard-faced simpleton!" Mrs. Calloway answered for her. The two cows grinned at each other when Crystal was close to blowing her top off. But this is exactly what they wanted as Maggie glanced over her shoulder to make sure her tail was digging under the white cloth. "That outfit you wear is simply too tacky and out of style for any woman to wear!"

Crystal held her hands to both sides of her head gritting her teeth while feeling the fury swell throughout her entire body. The cows went on.

"Those nails look crooked!" Maggie hollered.

"And while you're at it, get a haircut why don't you!" Mrs. Calloway added.

This time Crystal whirled around in a fury and let her finger reach for the stone in her crown. She was hoping to transform these two to start a new collection in her courtyard.

"Now!" Maggie urged as she and Mrs. Calloway moved out of the way with the cloth being pulled off to reveal the ice mirror.

"No, it can't be!" Crystal shrieked a second after her finger touched the glowing stone. She had been looking at none other than her own reflection which was now causing the spell to backfire on her. She looked down to find the bottom part of her dress solidifying up to her waist. A look of surprise froze on her face when the stoned ice finally concealed her entire body. Crystal had mistakenly turned herself into an ice statue.

Maggie and Mrs. Calloway looked at each other for a moment and stared at Crystal in disbelief. They couldn't believe that they had defeated a powerful ice magician by outsmarting her through name-calling and taunting which was her one and only weakness. The best way to deal with powerful foes was to try and outsmart them through their weaknesses and wait for the right moment to strike. It was a rather tough challenge, but they had succeeded.

"It worked," Maggie said still staring in disbelief at the enormous statue. "We've finally defeated Blizzard Breath."

"Yes, now that's something I don't see everyday," agreed Mrs. Calloway.

But the most surprising thing of all was that the statue of Grace began to shine a bright lemon color. Then it was gone. The white stone dissolved to reveal the real color of her hide. The two rushed over when Grace was close to losing her footing on the icy ground but was caught by Mrs. Calloway. Grace breathed heavily from having been trapped in an unending frigid prison she thought would have been forever. Now a rush of warmth spread throughout her body melting away the cold feeling. Grace realized that she could move and see again and was close to crying tears of joy. She turned her head up and saw the ice statue of what used to be Crystal, the Ice Empress.

"Are we all ready to go home now?" Mrs. Calloway asked softly helping Grace stand.

"But what are we going to do with her" Grace asked staring at a solid Crystal.

Even if the Ice Empress was nothing more than a statue, she was still frightening for anyone to gaze upon. Then Maggie had an idea.

"I know, why don't we move her into the ice cell?" she suggested. "It would be just like capturing and locking up the most wanted outlaw in the west."

"That's a splendid idea Maggie," said Santa proudly putting his hand on her shoulder. Then he looked at the pixies hovering above. "Fairies you know what to do."

The shimmering pixies danced in the air and sprinked down magic dust in a tinkling rain over the big statue. Then with Santa's help, the cows pushed the stiffened Crystal out of the courtyard and into one of the ice cells. The fairies melted two thick icicles halfway for them to make an entrance. After placing her against the wall, everyone rushed out while the fairies unmelted the bars. Crystal was locked inside her own prison.

"Well that takes care of her," laughed Maggie.

"Now it's back to the North Pole for us," said Santa joyfully as he lead everyone out to the front entrance where the sleigh was parked. While walking, Grace glanced over her shoulder and stuck her tongue out at the statue. It served her right for messing with them.


	18. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

_Back at the North Pole_

Before leaving Stone Cold Mountain, Santa figured it would be best for all entrances leading into this place were to be sealed by fairy magic in case Crystal might somehow break out of her prison. Although chances of that happening seemed rather slim, it was still better to be safe than sorry. All the statues that were under Crystal's spell had returned safely to their homes happily. Mr. Frazzle had mentioned that he was protecting a family of chipmunks from Crystal before being stoned. He wished the cows' good luck on their journey back home before flying back to Christmas Tree Forest. The Christmas star had been placed back on top of the tree an hour before midnight.

Now they were sitting inside the back seat of Santa's sleigh which had been sitting outside in the snow of the elf village. While the star had been stolen, the elves had volunteered to stay behind in the workshop and finish making and wrapping the toys for the children since they didn't want to leave the workshop unattended. Now everything was well organized and the red bag was packed into the enchanted cargo. Everyone gathered around the sleigh to wish Santa a safe trip around the world.

"Watch out for mountains and ice burgs!" shouted a female elf jumping in the crowd.

"And steer clear of the ocean waves!" added a gnome.

"I'll be back before you know it; and thank you everyone!" said Santa thankfully accepting their gratitude. "Thanks for all the preparations," then he turned to the three cows in the back seat. "And most of all, I would like to thank these three heroic cows for believing in me and helping to rid us of Crystal's mischief. And I would also like to thank everyone for helping me with a plan to help them save a friend who was in dire peril. Without our help, they might have faced the same fate, but now with all entrances sealed, the Ice Empress can never harm anyone again." The crowds cheered from hearing Santa say that. All the snowstorms and blizzards would be left to Mother Nature.

Finally Santa sat in his seat and faced the eight reindeer with Rudolph in the front. He would be needed in case the skies became foggy. "Now I must be off." Taking the reins, he called each reindeer by their names. "On Dasher, on Dancer, on Prancer, on Vixen. On Comet, on Cupid, on Donner and Blitzen. Lead the way Rudolph!"

Rudolph nodded his head as all of the reindeer turned their faces to the clear sky. With a jingle of the bells on each harness, they bounded from the ground.

"Hold on tight!" Santa said glancing at the girls from behind his shoulder as the sleigh was now flying through the glittering indigo sky.

"Don't forget to tell everyone where you've been!" Ester shouted jumping for joy.

"Bye everyone!" Maggie turned her head down at the crowd standing in the elf village waving.

"Bye!" Mrs. Calloway waved down cheerfully. "We won't forget this!"

"Goodbye, have a wonderful merry Christmas!" Grace waved down at the crowd. Behind them the North Pole grew smaller and smaller until it was now only a memory.

Grace had to admit that she was feeling a little sad leaving the North Pole while the sleigh had now been flying over a couple towns in Candy Land. To her this turned out to be one frosty Christmas wonderland that she would keep in her memory. Hopefully the other two were thinking the same thing she did. But she was also happy that they got to meet Santa Clause, his reindeer and all of his little helpers. Every one of them turned out to be real after all. Now they all agreed that it was time to go home.

Even though she and her friends were bewitched by Crystal's evil spell, everything managed to turn out all right in the end; and that was all that mattered. And it was still hard for her to believe that Maggie and Mrs. Calloway tricked her into casting her statue spell and revealing the ice mirror at the final moment. Just as they had captured Slim, they had locked Crystal in her own home to freeze away.

"Bye, see ya'll later!" Grace waved over at the gingerbread citizens down below with the sleigh passing over the Gingerbread Kingdom where Princess Maple waved from the balcony smiling. Next they passed over the Cherry Punch Lagoon and Candy Cane Alley where Chuck the chocolate moose was still standing guard over the candy fields to watch out for trespassers. When his eyes caught the sleigh, he bellowed and snorted.

"Sorry about yesterday!" Grace shouted from above as she thought she saw the look on Chuck say that her apology was accepted; for now. They had now flown passed the Pudding Palace and waved to the milkmaids and colorful pudding cows.

"Hang on everyone!" Santa urged as the sleigh flew through the pink cotton candy clouds and heading straight into what appeared to be a glowing portal.

"Oh no, not this again!" Mrs. Calloway said nervously as she held on to her purple bonnet and grabbed the edge of the sleigh.

Everyone braced themselves and shut their eyes as the sleigh was zooming at a high speed toward the portal like a fast train ride. The light had grown brighter signaling that they were almost through. It slowed down once the light diminished and it was now safe to open their eyes. Grace felt a wave of excitement run through her. They were preparing to take their last adventure riding on Santa's sleigh around the world.

* * *

_Back home that night_

It was indeed a magical night riding in the sky with Santa delivering gifts to every house in most of the countries such as England, France, Germany, and Taiwan. First he had to travel across the Arctic Ocean and down the Pacific to head toward Australia and New Zealand. In the lower part of the world, the sun always rises on each new day to celebrate Christmas morning. Time was different everywhere in the north, south, east and west so Santa used a bubble timer to make things easier to travel in one night and had a little help with a globe to help him know where he was heading next. Whenever the sleigh made visits in hotter countries such as Africa, India, and Brazil, Santa would urge the reindeer to move higher where the air was still cool.

In colder countries, Santa flew lower because of the heavy snow. But with Rudolph's shiny red nose still lighting the way, he had no further trouble. When one of the homes didn't have a chimney, Santa transforms himself into fairy dust to enter through the keyhole or under the door. He even had a way with keeping animals quiet by feeding them special treats. Some houses had stockings by the fireplace where he would fill them with small toys and candy canes after placing gifts under the decorated trees. Milk and cookies were left for him as well as vegetables for him to feed his reindeer.

It had been a long night with countless deliveries, down chimneys and through doors in every sleeping town and village. Maggie and Mrs. Calloway were growing sleepy and tired, but Grace seemed more determined to find what country the sleigh would be visiting next. Down below, they were nearing a familiar kind of town with a saloon, jail cell, and sheriff's office. It was Chugwater Town all right; they were now home.

"Girls, girls, we're home," Grace shook her two friends when they had fallen asleep.

"Wha…what, we're home already?" Maggie yawned then looked down below to find that Grace was right. It was night time and everyone seemed to have gone off to sleep in their warm beds. "Good, I can't wait till we hit the hay." Mrs. Calloway woke up and rubbed her tired eyes to see that the sleigh was lowering to land next to the Patch of Heaven gate.

"What a night this has been," she said drowsily as they landed softly.

"Boy I'll say, I'm tired," Maggie yawned with half-opened eyes.

"Thanks Santa for bringing us home," Grace said politely, and then gazed over at Rudolph whose nose was shining like a candle. "And thanks Rudolph for helping and protecting us. Don't know what we could've done without you."

"Just glad to help," Rudolph said with a smile. "And I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas."

"Oh we will all right," said Maggie who had also thanked them followed by Mrs. Calloway.

"I have to admit that I didn't think I'd ever see you," she admitted whilst straightening her hat. "But after all this, I've changed my mind about everything."

"Remember, it's the thought that counts," Santa reminded her.

Stepping out of the sleigh, they looked to find that everyone on the farm had gone off to sleep as well as Pearl. Tomorrow when they wake up, the whole family would definitely be hearing a story about three cows that had an adventure in a magical realm where Christmas was almost ruined by an evil ice empress; the perfect gift to hear on that special day.

After Maggie and Mrs. Calloway walked inside, Grace turned around to take one last look at Santa sitting in his sleigh with his eight reindeer and Rudolph in front. Despite the danger she had been in, this was truly a Christmas to remember.

"Will we ever see you again?" Grace asked him before he had a chance to take off.

"I'll always be here every year on Christmas Eve night," Santa answered. "As long as you still believe."

"I believe in you," Grace replied joyfully as she was nearing the gate.

Santa watched her go inside the den and waved goodbye. With that settled, Santa snapped the reins as the reindeer vaulted into the sky with a mighty leap. With a mighty "HO, HO, HO!" the sleigh circled around the Patch of Heaven farm one last time and a couple of beautifully wrapped presents floated down from the sky like raindrops. There was a mountain of cans for Jeb, chicken feed to last for an entire year for the hens, three toy balls for the piglets, a warm winter coat and boots for Pearl that flew in through the chimney, and of course, piles of fresh hay tied in a ribbon for the cows. But they had also received three brand new scarves and earmuffs since their old ones had been lost during their enslavement to Crystal. These ones would keep them warmer and better protected. They would be surprised to see them in the morning.

Santa's sleigh took off and flew past the brightest star in the sky where he continued his business with Chugwater Town. From there he drove out of sight always bringing joy and happiness everywhere he goes. Christmas was saved; thanks to three heroic cows.

**The End**

_**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of the characters from HOTR; all that is the property of the Walt Disney Company. All other characters not mentioned in the film are made by me. Rudolph, Santa Clause, and all other carols are not owned by me, but belong in the hearts of all who believe in the spirit of Christmas. I'd like to thank Teentails and EsmeAmelia who were kind enough to read and review. And if you're ever reading this story during the holiday season, I'd like to say: **MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!**_


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